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''ABE'* LINCOLN'S 

YARNS AND STORIES 

A COMPLETE COLLECTIOX OF THE FUX>"i" AXD 

WITTY A>'ECDOTEis THAT MADE 

LIXCOLX FAMOUS AS 

AMERICA'S GREATEST STORY TELLER 



WITH IMKODLCTIO.N AND ANECDOTES 
BV 

COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE 

OF THE PHILADELPHIA TIMES 
A PERSONAL FRIEND AND ADVISER OF THE 

STORY TELLING PRESIDENT 

THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE TOLD BY HIMSELF 

IN HIS STORIES 

Wit and Humor of the War, the Courts, the 
Backwoods and the White House 



ILLUSTRATED WITH ONE HUNDRED ORIGINAL OUTLINE DRAWINGS BY 
SPECIAL ARTISTS OF SCENES AND CHARACTERS IN LINCOLN'S STORIES, 
AND FIFTY PHOTOGRAPH PORTRAITS OF THE FAMOUS ME.' OF LINCOLN'S 
TIME AND THEIR BIOGRAPHIES ^"i .* Jt ^ ^ M J* Jt M Jt 

Copyright by Herry Neil, I90j 



F£S tS 1905 

Ji-TiS J9 /JVC. i«o; 



Lincoiiiiaiid 



PREFACE. 



Dean Swift said that the man who makes two blades of grass grow wlierc 
one grew before deserves well of his kind. Considering how much gras- 
there is in the w-orld and comparatively how little fun, we think that a still 
more deserving person is the man who makes many laughs grow where 
none grew before. 

Sometimes it happens that tb.e biggest crop of laugh is produced by 
a man who ranks among the greatest and wisest. Such a man was Abrahaii; 
Lincoln, whose wholesome fun mixed with true philosophy made thousands 
laugh and think at the same time. He was a firm believer in the saying, 
"Laugh and the world laughs with you." 

Whenever Abraham Lincoln wanted to make a strong point he usually 
began by saying, "Now, that reminds me of a story." And when he had 
told the story every one saw the point and was put into a good humor. 

The ancients had Aesop an.d his fables. The moderns had Abraham 
Lincoln and his stories. 

Aesop's Fables have been printed in book form in almost every lan- 
guage and millions have read them with pleasure and profit. 

Lincoln's stories were scattered in the recollections of thousands of 
people in various parts of the country. The historians who wrote histories 
of Lincoln's life remembered only a few of them, but the most of Lincoln'.-, 
stories and the 1)est of them remained unwritten. 

More than five years ago the author of this book conceived the idea of 
collecting all the yarns and stories, the droll sayings, and witty and humorous 
anecdotes of Abraham Lincoln into one large book, and this volume is the 
result of that idea. 

Before Lincoln was ever heard of as a lawyer or politician, he was famous 
as a story teller. As a politician, he always had a story to fit the other 
side; as a lawyer, he won many cases by telling the jury a story which 
showed them the justice of his side better than any argument could have 
done. 

While nearly all of Lincoln's stories have a humorous side, they ,also 
contain a moral, which every good story should have. 

They contain lessons that could be taught so well in no other way. 



f-'^y one of H ^^^^^C£, 

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^^ery day r ° ^'^^p he.,.. '"- side of I,;, 

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to 



INTRODUCTION. 



."! BY COLONEL ALEXANDER K. McCLURE. 

id never told a humorous story, his sense of humor 
■fnating feature of his personal quahties 

umorists have excelled m nothmg else. S^ S. ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ 

lie hpc;t he is erievouslv disappomtmg. ^ 

lis best ne is ^i . statesman as well as .- 

,n Senate and «°"f ^^f:"^"^^^^;^,, ,,,,en he had returned to Congress 

""""TV^lllS^^. in Ihe House »as delivered i„ .840 i.- reply 

. r 1 Crarv of MeWg.". -ho had attacked General HarrBon s nnl^ 
to Genera Crar> of Mel ^ ^^ ^^_^^.^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^ 

n:r:^ hriZ; co::hina.io„ o. h„.nor and invective ever .lelivered ,n 
1 .llw The venerable John Ouincy Adams a day or t«o afle, Cor> ni s 
te'ectterTe,; t^ Crary as' "theTate Genera, Crary. • and the „st,ce o. the 
retnark (mm the -Old Man Eloquent .vas accepted by all. 



^" INTRODUCTION. 



Mr. Lincoln differed from the celebrated humorists of the country in 
the nyportant fact that his h.n^or was unstudied. He was not in any sense 
a professional humorist, but I have never in all iny intercourse with public 
men known one who was so apt in humorous illustration as Mr. Lincoln' 
and I have known him many times to silence controversy by a humorous 
story with pointed application to the issue. numorous 

His face was the saddest in repose that I have ever seen amon- ac- 
complislied and intellectual men, and his sympathies for the people fo^ the 
untold thousands who were suflfering bereavement from the war, of ;n m d 
"m speak with his heart upon his sleeve, about the sorrows whi h si "dowed 
the homes of the land and for which his heart was freely bleedin. 

felt n, '' T^ ''""'' '"" ^"'" ^'''"^^'"- '" t'^^ '"'^^t serious and heart- 
felt manner the sorrows and bereavements of the country, and when t 
wou d seem as though the tension was so strained that the br ttle co d o He 
must break his face would suddenly brighten like the sun escapi g from 
behind the doud to throw its effulgence upon the earth, and he would te" 
an appropriate story, and much as his stories were enjoyed by his I arer 
none enjoyed them more than Mr. Lincoln hunself 

I have often known him within the space of a few minutes to be trans- 
formed from the saddest face I have ever looked upon to one of th b g 
est and most mirthful. It was well known that he had his great foumin 
of humor as a safety valve; as an escape and entire relief from the f u 

of the cabinet ulere ne was usually a listener rather than a speaker he 
would often end dispute by telling a story and none misunderstood it and 
o^en when he was pressed to give expression on particular subjects, ai d fe 
alwa,. abundant caution was baffled, he many times ended he intervi w 
by a story that needed no elaboration. 

I recall an interview with Mr. Lincoln at the White House in the sprine 
of 1865, just before Lee retreated from Petersburg. It was we 11 und r 
stood that the military power of the Confederacy was brok 1 a d h" t J 
question of reconstruction would soon be upon us 

Colonel Forney and I had called upon the President simply to pay our 
respects, and while pleasantly chatting with him General Benjamin FBu 

So T ,■;"''' T ' S'"''' '"^'^"^■^^^' ^"^^ h^^' '"t^'^^e hatred' of the 
Sou Ivern leaders who had hindered his advancement when Buchanan w 
dected President, and he was bubbling over with resentment against thm 
He introduced the subject to the President of the treatment to be va ded 



INTRODUCTION. xiii 

to the leaders of the rebellion when its powers should be confessedly broken, 
and he was earnest in demanding that Davis and other conspicuous leaders 
of the Confederacy should be tried, condemned and executed as traitors. 

General Butler joined Colonel Forney in demanding that treason must 
be made odious by the execution of those who had wantonly plunged the 
country into civil war. Lincoln heard them patiently, as he usually heard 
all. and none could tell, however carefully they scanned his countenance, 
what impression the appeal made upon him. 

I said to General Butler that, as a lawyer pre-eminent in his profession, 
he must know that the leaders of a government that had beleaguered our 
capital for four years, and was openly recognized as a belligerent power not 
only by our governmei.it but by all the leading governments of the world, 
could not be held to answer to the law for the crime of treason. 

Butler was vehement in declaring that the rebellious leaders nuist be 
tried and executed. Lincoln listened to the discussion for half an hour or 
more and finally ended it by telling the story of a common drunkard out in 
Illinois who had been induced by his friends time and again to join the tem- 
perance society, but had always broken away. Fie was fmaily gathered up 
again and given notice that if he violated his. pledge once more they would 
abandon him as an utteriy hopeless vagrant. He made an earnest struggle 
to maintain his promise, and fmaily he called for lemonade and said to the 
man who was preparing it: "Couldn't you put just a drop of the cratur in it 
unbeknownst to me?" 

After telling the story Lincoln simply added: "If these men could get 
away from the country unbeknov.nst to us, it might save a world of trouble." 
All understood precisely what Lincoln meant, although he had given ex- 
pression in the most cautious manner possible and the controversy was 
ended. 

Lincoln differed from professional humorists in the fact that he never 
knew when he was going to be humorous. It bubbled up on the most 
unexpected occasions, and often unsettled the most carefully studied argu- 
ments. I have many times been with him when lie gave no sign of humor, 
and those who saw him under such conditions would naturally suppose that 
he was incapable of a humorous expression. At other times he would ef- 
fervesce with humor and always of the most exquisite and impressive na- 
ture. Ilis humor was never strained.; his stories never stale, and even if 
old, the application he made of them gave them the freshness of originality. 
I recall sitting beside him in the ^\■hite House one day when a message 



xiv INTRODUCTION. 

was brought to him telling of the capture of several brigadier-generals and a 
number of horses somewhere out in Virginia. He read the dispatch and 
then in an apparently soliloquizing mood, said: "Sorry for the horses; I 
can make brigadier-generals." 

There are many who believe that Mr. Lincoln loved to tell obscene or 
profane stories, but they do great injustice to one of the purest and best men 
I have ever known. His humor must be judged by the environment that 
aided in its creation. 

As a prominent lawyer who traveled the circuit in Illinois, he was much 
in the company of his fellow lawyers, who spent their evenings in the rude 
taverns of what was then almost frontier life. The Western people thus 
thrown together with but limited sources of culture and enjoyment, logically 
cultivated the story teller, and Lincoln proved to be the most accomplished 
in that line of all the members of the Illinois bar. They had no private 
rooms for study, and the evenings were always spent in the common bar- 
room of the tavern, where Western wit, often vulgar or profane, was freely 
indulged in, and the best of them at times told stories which were somewhat 
"broad;" but even while thus indulging in humor that would grate harshly 
upon severely refined hearers, they despised the vulgarian; none despised 
vulgarity more than Lincoln. 

I have heard him tell at one time or another almost or quite all of the 
stories he told during his Presidential term, and there were very few of 
them which might not have been repeated in a parlor and none descended 
to obscene, vulgar or profane expressions. I have never known a man of 
purer instincts than Abraham Lincoln, and his appreciation of all that 
was beautiful and good was of the highest order. 

It was fortunate for Mr. Lincoln that he frequently sought relief from 
the fearfully oppressive duties which bore so heavily upon him. He had imme- 
diately about him a circle of men with whom he could be "at home" in the 
White House any evening as he was with his old time friends on the Illi- 
nois circuit. 

David Davis was one upon whom he most relied as an adviser, and 
Leonard Swett was probably one of his closest friends, while Ward Lamon, 
whom he made Marshal of the District of Columbia to have him by his 
side, was one with whom he felt entirely "at home." Davis was of a more 
sober order but loved Lincoln's humor, although utterly incapable of a 
humorous expression himself. Swett was ready with Lincoln to give and 
take in storyland, as was Lamon, and either of them, and sometimes all of 



INTRODUCTION. xv 

them, often dropped in upon Lincoln and gave him an hour's diversion from 
his exacting cares. They knew that he needed it and they sought him for 
the purpose of diverting him from what they feared was an excessive strain. 

His devotion to Lamon was beautiful. I well remember at Harrisburg 
on the night of February 22, 1861, when at a dinner given by Governor 
Curtin to Mr. Lincoln, then on his way to Washington, v.'e decided, against 
the protest of Lincoln, that he luust change his route to Washington and 
make the memorable midnight journey to the capital. It was thought to be 
best that but one man should accompany him, and he was asked to choose. 
There were present of his suite Colonel Sumner, afterwards one of the 
heroic generals of the war, Norman B. Judd, who was chairman of the Re- 
publican State Committee of Illinois, Colonel Lamou and others, and he 
promptly chose Colonel Lamon, who alone accompanied him on his journey 
from Harrisburg to Philadelphia and thence to Washington. 

Before leaving the room Governor Curtin asked Colonel Lamon 
whether he was armed, and he answered by exhibiting a brace of fine pis- 
tols, a huge bowie knife, a black jack, and a pair of brass knuckles. Curtin 
answered: "You'll do," and they were started on their journey after all the 
telegraph wires had been cut. We awaited through what seemed almost 
an endless night, until the east was purpled with the coming of another 
day, when Colonel Scott, who had managed the whole scheme, reunited 
the wires and soon received from Colonel Lamon this dispatch : "Plums 
delivered nuts safely," which gave us the intensely gratifying information 
that Lincoln had arrived in Washington. 

Of all the Presidents of the United States, and indeed of all the great 
statesmen who have made their indelible impress upon the policy of the 
Republic, Abraham Lincoln stands out single and alone in his individual 
qualities. He had little experience in statesmanship when he was called 
to the Presidency. He had only a few years of service in the State Legis- 
lature of Illinois, and a single term in Congress ending twelve years before 
he became President but he had to grapple with the gravest problems ever 
presented to the statesmanship of the nation for solution, and he met each 
and all of them in turn with the most consistent mastery, and settled thein 
so successfully that all have stood unquestioned until the present time, and 
are certain to endure while the Republic lives. 

In this he surprised not only his own cabinet and the leaders of his 
party who had little confidence in him when he first became President, but 
equally surprised the country and the world. 



xvi introduction: 

He was patient, tireless and usually silent when great conflicts raged 

about him to solve the appalling problems which were presented at various 

stages of the war for determination, and when he reached his conclusion 

he was inexorable. The wrangles of faction and the jostling of ambition 

,were compelled to bow when Lincoln had determined upon his line of duty. 

He was much more than a statesman ; he was one of the most sagacious 
politicians I have ever known, although he was entirely unschooled in the 
machinery by which political results are achieved. His judgment of men 
was next to unerring, and when results were to be attained he knew the 
men who should be assigned to the task, and he rarely made a mistake. 

I remember one occasion when he summoned Colonel Forney and my- 
self to confer on some political problem, he opened the conversation by 
saying: "You know that I never was much of a conniver; I don't know the 
methods of political management, and I can only trust to the wisdom of 
leaders to accomplish what is needed." 

Lincoln's public acts are familiar tu every school buy of the nation, but 
his personal attributes, which are so strangely distinguished from the at- 
tributes of other great men, are now the most interesting study of young 
and old throughout our land, and I can conceive of no more acceptable 
presentation to the public than a compilation of anecdotes and incidents 
pertaining to the life of the greatest of all our Presidents. 



ikl^v, djiAj-A^Z^ ^ "^V-<x/v^ 




INDEX TO FULL PAGE PORTRAITS 

OF 

MEN OF LINCOLN'S TIME. 



PAGS 

Henry Ward Beecher deal Fulpit Orator 477 

Benjamin F. Butler Uniun General 423 

Simon Cameron Lincoln's First Secretary of War 153 

Salmon Portland Chase Chief J iisticeUnited States Supreme Court 154 

Schuyler Colfax Vice-President Grant's First Term 406 

Charles A. Dana Assistant to Secretary of IVar Station. . 352 

Jefferson Davis President Confederate States i8g 

Stephen A. Douglas United States Senator, Illinois 81 

Frederick Douglass Colored Orator 460 

Edward Everett Famous Orator 478 

David Glasgow Fakragut First American Admiral 334 

William Lloyd Garrison Abolition Advocate 405 

Horace Greeley Editor Nczv York "Tribune" 351 

U. S. Grant Eighteenth President United Stales. . . . 207 

Hannibal Hamlin Vice-President Lincoln's First Term .... 118 

Winfield Scott Hancock Union General 316 

John Hay Secretary of State ilcKinley's Cabinet . . 172 

William H. Herndon Lincoln's Laic Partner 82 

Joseph Hooker Union General 362 

Ward H. Lamon Lincoln's Most Intimate Friend gq 

Robert E. Lee Commander Confederate Armies 208 

Abraham Lincoln Sixteenth President United States 2 

President Lincoln and "Tad". . His Favorite Son 279 

Robert Todd Lincoln Fjesiilcnt Lincoln's Eldest Son 280 

John A. Logan United States Senator, Illinois 298 

George B. ]\IcClellan Commander United States Army 225 

xvii 



1 



xviii FULL PAGE PORTRAITS. 

PAG» 

Alexander Kelly McClure. . . . £(/i7o>' Philadelphia "Times" 63 

George G. Meade Union General 261 

Joseph Medill Editor Chicago "Tribune" 369 

Wendell Phillips Abolition Adz'ocate 424 

Allan Pinkerton Famous Detective 496 

William S. Rosecrans Union General 244 

John M. Schofield Lieutcnant-General United States Army. 315 

WiNFiELD Scott Lieutcnant-General United States Army. 333 

William H. Seward Secretary of State zuith Lincoln 135 

Phillip H. Sheridan General United States Army 243 

John Sherman United States Senator, Ohio 442 

William Tecumseii Sherman .. General United States Army 226 

Edwin M. Stanton Secretary of War ivith Lincoln 136 

Alexander H. Stephens Vice-President Confederacy 190 

Thaddeus Stevens Congressman, Pennsylvania 441 

Charles Sumner United States Senator, Massachusetts. . . 387 

Roger B. Taney Chief Justice United States Supreme Court 459 

George H. Thomas Union General 297 

Lyman Trumbull United States Senator, Illinois 100 

Cornelius Vanderbilt Railroad Magnate 495 

Benjamin F. W^\de United States Senator. Ohio 388 

Elihu B. Washburne Minister to France 117 

Thurlow Weed Editor Albany "Journa!" 171 

Richard Yates War Governor, Illinois 370 



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LINCOLN'S NAME AROUSES AN AUDIENCE, 

BY 

DR. NEWMAN HALL, 
of London. 

When I have had to address a fagged and listless audience, I have 

found that nothing was so certain to arouse them as to introduce the 

name of Abraham Lincoln. 



REVERE WASHINGTON AND LOVE LINCOLN, 

BY 

REV. DR. THEODORE L. CUYLER. 
No Other name has such electric power on every true heart, from 
Maine to Mexico, as the name of Lincoln. If Washington is the most 
revered, Lincoln is the best loved man that ever trod this continent. 



GREATEST CHARACTER SINCE CHRIST, 

BV 

JOHN HAY, 

Former Private Secretary to President Lincoir and Later Secretary of State in 

President McKinley's Cabinet. 

As, in spite of some rudeness, republicanism is the sole hope of a sick 

world, so Lincoln, with all his foibles, is the greatest character since 

Christ. 



STORIES n ~ORM THE COMMON PEOPLE, 

BY 

CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW, 
United States Senator from New York. 

Mr. Lincoln said to me once : "They say I tell a great many stories; 
I reckon I do, but I have found in the course of a long experience that 
common people, take them as they run, are more easily informed 
through the medium of a broad illustration than in any other way, 
and as to what the hypercritical few may think, I don't care." 



HUMOR A PASSPORT TO THE HEART, 

BY 

GEO. S. BOUTWELL, 
Former Secretary of the United States Treasury. 

Mr. Lincoln's wit and mirth will give him a passport to the 

thoughts and hearts of millions who would take no interest in the sterner 

and more practical parts of his character. 



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DROLL, ORIGINAL AND APPROPRIATE, 

BY 

ELIHU B. WASHBURNE, 
Former United States Minister to France. 

Mr. Lincoln's anecdotes were all so droll, so original, so appropriate 

and so illustrative of passing incidents, that one never wearied. 



LINCOLN'S HUMOR A SPARKLING SPRING, 

IIY 

D.-WID R. LOCKE (PETROLEUM V. NASBY), 
Lincoln's Favorite Humorist. 

Mr. Lincoln's flow of humor was a sparklijig spring, gushing out of 

a rock — the flashing water had a somber background which made it all 

the brighter. 



LIKE ^SOP'S FABLES, 

BY 

HUGH McCULLOCH, 
Former Secretary of tlie United States Treasury. 

Many of Mr. Lincoln's stones were as apt and instructive as the best 

of ^sop's Fables. 



FULL OF FUN, 

BY 

GENERAL JAMES E. FRY, 
Former Adjutant-General United States Army. 

Mr. Lincoln was a humorist so full of fun that he could not keep 

it all in. 

INEXHAUSTIBLE FUND OF STORIES, 

BY 

LAWRENCE WELDON, 
Judge United States Court of Claims. 

Mr. Lincoln's resources as a story-teller were inexhaustible, and no 
condition could arise in a case beyond his capacity to furnish an illustra- 
tion with an appropriate anecdote. 



CHAMPION STORY-TELLER, 

BY 

BEN. PERLEY POORE, 
Former Editor of The Congressional Record. 

Mr. Lincoln was recognized as the champion story-teller of the Cap- 
itol. 



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LINCOLN CHRONOLOGY. 

1806 — Marriage of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, June 12th, Washington County, 

Kentucky. 
809 — Born February 12th, Hardin (now La Rue County), Kentucky. 
816 — Family Removed to Perry County, Indiana. 
818 — Death of Abraham's Mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln. 
819 — Second Marriage Thomas Lincoln; Married Sally Bush Johnston, December 2d, at 

Eliiabetlitown, Kentucky. 
830 — Lincoln Family Removed to Illinois, Locating in Macon County. 
831 — Abraham Located at New Salem. 
832— Abraham a Captain in the Black Hawk War. 
833 — -Appointed Postmaster at New Salem. 
834 — Abraham as a Surveyor. First Election to the Legislature. 
835 — Love Romance with Anne Rutledge. 
836 — Second Election to the Legislature. 
837 — Licensed to Practice Law. 
838 — Third Election to the Legislature. 

84a — Presidential Elector on Harrison Ticket. Fourth Election to the Legislature. 
842 — Married November 4th, to Mary Todd. "Duel" with General Shields. 
843— Birth of Robert Todd Lincoln, August 1st. 

846— Elected to Congress. Birth of Edward Baker Lincoln, March loth. 
848 — Delegate to the Philadelphia National Convention. 
850 — Birth of William Wallace Lincoln, December 2d. 
853 — Birth of Thomas Lincoln, April 4th. 
856 — Assists in Formation Republican Party. 

858 — Joint Debater with Stephen A. Douglas. Defeated for the United States Senate. 
860— Nominated and Elected to the Presidency. 
861 — Inaugurated as President, March 4th. 
863 — Issued Emancipation Proclamation, 
864 — Re-elected to the Presidency. 
865— Assassinated by J. Wilkes Booth, .\pril 14th. Died April 15th. Remains Interred at 

Springfield, Illinois, May 4th. 



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LINCOLN AND McCLURE. 

(From Harper's Weekly, April 13, 1901.) 

Colonel Alexander K. McClurc, the editorial director of the Phila- 
delphia Times, which he fourtded in 1875, began his forceful career as 
a tanner's apprentice in the mountains of Pennsylvania threescore years 
ago. He tanned hides all day, and read exchanges nights in the 
neighboring weekly newspaper office. The learned tanner's boy also 
became the aptest tanner in the county, and the editor testified his 
admiration for young McClure's attainments by sending him to edit 
a new weekly paper which the exigencies of politics called into being 
in an adjoining county. 

The lad was over six feet high, had the thews of Ajax and the voice 
of Boanerges, and knew enough about shoe-leather not to be afraid of 
any man that stood in it. He made his paper a success, went into 
politics, and made that a success, studied law with William IMcLellan, 
and made that a success, and actually went into the army — and made 
that a success, by an interesting accident which brought him into close 
personal relations with Abraham Lincoln, whom he had helped to 
nominate, serving as chairman of the Republican State Committee of 
Pennsylvania through the campaign. 

In 1862 the government needed troops badly, and in each Penn- 
sylvania county Republicans and Democats were appointed to assist 
in the enrollment, under the State laws. McQure, working day and 
night at Harrisburg, saw conscripts coming in at the rate of a thousand 
a day, only to fret in idleness against the army red-tape which held 
them there instead of sending a regiment a day to the front, as McClure 
demanded should be done. The military officer continued to dispatch 
two companies a day — leaving the mass of the conscripts to be fed by 
the contractors. 

McClure went to Washington and said to the President, "You 
must send a mustering officer to Harrisburg who will do as I say; I 
can't stay there any longer under existing conditions." 

Lincoln sent into another room for Adjutant-General Thomas. 
"General," said he, "what is the highest rank of military officer at Har- 
risburg?" "Captain, sir," said Thomas. "Bring me a commission for 
an Assistant Adjutant-General of the United States Army," said 
Lincoln. 

So Adjutant-General McClure was mustered in, and after that a 
regiment a day of boys in blue left Harrisburg for the front. Colonel 
McClure is one of the group of great Celt-American editors, which 
included Medill, McCullagh and McLean. 



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ALEXANDER KELLY .NLCLL'RE. one of the most eminent u.'' American journalists, 
is the founder and editor of the Philadelphia "Times" ( 1869), and was an intimate friend ot 
President Lincoln. During the War period Colonel McClure sinv the President almost daily, 
and was at once his confidant and adviser in many things. The Martyr President had a high 
appreciation of Colonel McClure's abilitv and patriotism, and full faith in his integrity and 
puritv of purpose. Colonel McClure's acquaintance with Mr. Lincoln gave him an insight 
into the Great Emancipator's character x'ery few were toriunate enough to obtain. He is a 
native Pennsvlvanian, born in 1828. (63 j 



"ABE" LINCOLN'S 
YARNS AND STORIES. 



LINCOLN ASKED TO BE SHOT. 

Lincoln was, naturally enough, much surprised one day, when a man 
of rather forbidding countenance drew a revolver and thrust the weapon 
almost into his face. In 
such circumstances "Abe" 
at once concluded that any 
attempt at debate or argu- 
ment was a waste of time 
and words. 

"What seems to be the 
matter?" inquired Lincoln 
with all the calmness and 
self-possession he could 
muster. 

"Well," replied the 
stranger, who did not ap- 
pear at all excited, "some 
years ago I swore an oath 
that if I ever came across 
an uglier man than myself I'd shoot him on the spot." 

A feeling of relief evidently took possession of Lincoln at this rejoinder, 
as the expression upon his countenance lost all suggestion of anxiety. 

"Shoot me," he said to the stranger: "for if I am an uglier man than you 
I don't want to live." 




TIME LOST DIDN'T COUNT. 

Thurlow Weed, the veteran journalist and politician, once related how, 
when he was opposing the claims of Montgomery Blair, who aspired to a 

65 



66 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

Cabinet appointment, that Mr. Lincoln inquired of Mr. Weed whom he 
would recommend, "Henry Winter Davis," was the response. 

"David Davis, I see, has been posting you up on this question," retorted 
Lincoln. "He has Davis on the brain. I think Maryland must be a good 
.State to move from." 

The President then told a story of a witness in court in a neighboring- 
county, who, on being asked his age, replied, "Sixty." Being satisfied he 
was much older the question was repeated, and on receiving the same answer 
the court admonished the witness, saying, "The court knows you to be much 
older than sixty." 

"Qh, I understand now," was the rejoinder, "you're thinking of those ten 
years I spent on the eastern shore of ALaryland; that was so much time lost, 
and didn't count." 

Blair was made Postmaster-General. 



NO VICES, NO VlflTUES. 

Lincoln always took great pleasure in relating this yarn : 

Riding at one time in a stage with an old Kentuckian who was returning 
from Missouri, Lincoln excited the old gentleman's surprise by refusing to 
accept either of tobacco or French brandy. 

When they separated that afternoon — the Kentuckian to take another 
stage bound for Louisville — he shook hands warmly with Lincoln, and said, 
good-liumoredly : 

"See here, stranger, you're a clever but strange companion. I' may never 
see you again, and I don't want to offend you, but I want to say this : My 
experience has taught me that a man who has no vices has d — d few virtues. 
Good-day." 



LINCOLN'S DUEL. 



Miss Todd (afterwards ^Irs. Lincoln) had a keen sense of the ridiculous, 
and wrote several articles in the Springfield (111.) "Journal'' reflecting severely 
upon General James Shields (who won fame in the Mexican and Civil Wars, 
and was L'nited States Senator from three states), then Auditor of State. 

Lincoln assumed the authorship, and was challenged by Shields to meet 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



67 



him on the "field of honor." Meanvvliile J.Iiss Todd increased Shields' ire 
by writing another letter to the paper, in which she said : "I hear the way of 
these fire-eaters is to give the challenged party the choice of weapons, which 
being the case, I'll tell you in confidence that I never fight with anything but 
broom-sticks, or hot water, or a shovelful of coals, the former of which, being 
somewhat like a shillalah, may not be objectionable to him." 



CrS 







Lincoln accepted the challenge, and selected broadswords as the weapons. 
Judge Herndon (Lincoln's law partner) gives the closing of this aft'air as 
follows : 

"The laws of Illinois prohibited dueling, and Lincoln demanded that the 
meeting should be outside the state. Shields undoubtedly knew that Lincoln 
was opposed to fighting a duel — that his moral sense would revolt at the 
thought, and that he would not be likely to break the law by fighting in the 
state. Possibly he thought Lincoln would make a humble apology. Shields 
was brave, but foolish, and would not listen to overtures for explanation. 
It was arranged that the meeting should be in Missouri, opposite Alton. 



68 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

"They proceeded to the place selected, but friends interfered, and there 
was no duel. There is little doubt that the man who had swung a beetle 
and driven iron wedges into gnarled hickory logs could have cleft the skull 
of his antagonist, but he had no such intention. He repeatedly said to the 
friends of Shields that in writing the first article he had no thought of any- 
thing personal. The Auditor's vanity had been sorely wounded by the sec- 
ond letter, in regard to which Lincoln could not make any explanation 
except that he had had no hand in writing it. The afifair set all Springfield 
to laughirig at Shields." 



"DONE WITH THE BIBIE." 

Lincoln never told a better story than this : 

A country meeting-house, that was used once a month, was quite a 
distance from any other house. 

The preacher, an old-line Baptist, was dressed in coarse linen pantaloons, 
and shirt of the same material. The pants, manufactured after the old fash- 
ion, with baggy legs, and a flap in the front, were made to attach to his 
frame without the aid of suspenders. 

A single button held his shirt in position, and that was at the collar. He 
rose up in the pulpit, and with a loud voice announced his text thus : "I am 
the Christ whom I shall represent to-day." 

About this time a little blue lizard ran up his roomy pantaloons. The 
old preacher, not wishing to interrupt the steady flow of his sermon, slapped 
away on his leg, expecting to arrest the intruder, but his efforts were unavail- 
ing, and the little fellow kept on ascending higher and higher. 

Continuing the sermon, the preacher loosened the central button which 
graced the waistband of his pantaloons, and with a kick of¥ came that easy- 
fitting garment. 

But, meanwhile, Mr. Lizard had passed the equatorial line of the waist- 
band, and was calmly exploring that part of the preacher's anatomy which 
lay underneath the back of his shirt. 

Things were now growing interesting, but the sermon was still grind- 
ing on. The next movement on the preacher's part was for the collar but- 
ton, and with one sweep of his arm of? came the tow linen shirt. 

The congregation sat for an instant as if dazed; at length one old lady 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



69 



in the rear part of the room rose up, and, glancing at the excited object in the 
pulpit, shouted at the top of her voice: "If you represent Christ, then I'm 
done with the Bible." 



HIS KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN NATURE. 



d 



3[ 



Once, when Lincoln was pleading a case, the opposing law^d had all 
the advantage of the law; the weather was warm, and his opponent, as was 
admissible in frontier courts, 
pulled off his coat and vest as 
he grew warm in the argu- 
ment. 

At that time, shirts with 
buttons behind were unusual. 
Lincoln took in the situation 
at once. Knowing the prej- 
udices of the primitive peo- 
ple against pretension of all 
sorts, or any affectation of 
superior social rank, arising, 
he said: "Gentlemen of the 
jury, having justice on my 
side, I don't think you will be 
at all influenced by the gen- 
tleman's pretended knowl- 
edge of the law, when you 
see he does not even know 
which side of his shirt should be in front.' 
Lincoln's case was won. 




a|; 



There was a general '-aiioh, and 



A MISCHIEVOUS OX. 

President Lincoln once told the following story of Colonel W., who had 
been elected to the Legislature, and had also been Judge of the County Court. 
His elevation, however, had made him somewhat pompous, and he became 



yo "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

very fond of using big words. On his farm he had a very large and mis- 
chievous ox, called "Big Brindle," which very frequently broke down his 
neighbors' fences, and committed other depredations, much to the Colonel's 
annoyance. 

One morning after breakfast, in the presence of Lincoln, who had stayed 
with him over night, and who was on his way to town, he called his overseer 
and said to him : 

"Mr. Allen, I desire you to impound 'Big Brindle,' in order that I may 
hear no animadversions on his eternal depredations." 

Allen bowed and walked off, sorely puzzled to know what the Colonel 
wanted him to do. After Colonel W. left for town, he went to his wife and 
asked her what the Colonel meant by telling him to impound the ox. 

"Why, he meant to tell you to put him in a pen," said she. 

Allen left to perform the feat, for it was no inconsiderable one, as the 
animal was wild and vicious, but, after a great deal of trouble and vexation, 
succeeded. 

"Well," said he, wiping the perspiration from his brow and sohloquizing, 
"this is impounding, is it? Now, I am dead sure that the Colonel will ask me 
if I impounded 'Big Brindle,' and I'll bet I puzzle him as he did me." 

The next day the Colonel gave a dinner party, and as he was not aris- 
trocratic, Allen, the overseer, sat down with the company. After the sec- 
ond or third glass w^as discussed, the Colonel turned to the overseer and said : 

"Eh, Mr. Allen, did you impound 'Big Brindle,' sir?" 

Allen straightened himself, and looking around at the company, replied: 

"Yes, I did, sir; but 'Old Brindle' transcended the impannel of the im- 
pound, and scatterlophisticated all over the equanimity of the forest." 

The company burst into an immoderate fit of laughter, while the Colonel's 
face reddened with discomfiture. 

"What do you mean by that, sir?" demanded the Colonel. 

"Why, I mean. Colonel," replied Allen, "that 'Old Brindle,' being prog- 
nosticated with an idea of the cholera, ripped and teared, snorted and 
pawed dirt, jumped the fence, tuck to the woods, and would not be impounded 
nohow." 

This was too much; the company roared again, the Colonel being forced 
to join in the laughter, and in the midst of the jollity Allen left the table, say- 
ing to himself as he went, "I reckon the Colonel won't ask me to impound 
any more oxen." 



YARNS AXD STORIES. 



71 



THE PRESIDENTIAL ''CHIN-ELY." 

Some of Mr. Lincoln's intimate friends once called his attention to a cer- 
tain member of his Cabinet who was quietly working to secure a nomination 
for the Presidency, although knowing that Mr. Lincoln was to be a candi- 
date for re-election. His friends insisted that the Cabinet officer ought to 
be made to give up 
his Presidential as- 
pirations or be re- 
moved from office. 
The situation re- 
minded IMr. Lin- 
coln of a story : 
"My brother and 
L" he said, "were 
once plowing corn, 
1 driving the horse 
and he holding the 
plow. The horse 
was lazy, but on 
one occasion he 
rushed across the 
field so that I, with 
my long legs, could 

scarcely keep pace with him. On reaching the end of the furrow, I found an 
enormous chin-fly fastened upon him, and knocked him off. My brother 
asked me what I did that for. I told him I didn't want the old horse bitten 
in that way. 'Why,' said my brother, 'that's all that made him go.' Now," 

said Mr. Lincoln, "if Mr. has a Presidential chin-fly biting him, I'm 

not going to knock him off, if it will only make his department go." 




'SaUIRE BAGLY'S PRECEDENT. 

Mr. T. W. S. Kidd, of Springfield, says that he once heard a lawyer op- 
posed to Lincoln trying to convince a jury that precedent was superior to 
law, and that custom made things legal in all cases. When Lincoln arose 
to answer him he told the jury he would argue his case in the same way. 



yz "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

"Old 'Squire Bagly, from Menard, came into my office and said, 'Lincoln, 
I want your advice as a lawyer. Has a man what's been elected justice of 
the peace a right to issue a marriage license?' I told him he had not; when 
the old 'squire threw himself back in his chair very indignantly, and said, 
'Lincoln, I thought you was a lawyer. Now Bob Thomas and me had a bet 
on this thing, and we agreed to let you decide; but if this is your opinion I 
don't want it, for I know a thunderin' sight better, for I have been 'squire 
now for eight years and have done it all the time.' " 



HE'D NEED HIS GUN. 

When the President, early in the War, was anxious about the defenses 
of Washington, he told a story illustrating his feelings in the case. General 
Scott, then Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army, had but 1,500 
men, two guns and an old sloop of war, the latter anchored in the Potomac, 
with which to protect the National Capital, and the President was uneasy. 

To one of his queries as to the safety of Washington, General Scott had 
replied, "It has been ordained, Mr. President, that the city shall not be 
captured by the Confederates." 

"But we ought to have more men and guns here," was the Chief Execu- 
tive's answer. "The Confederates are not such fools as to let a good chance 
to capture Washington go by, and even if it has been ordained that the city 
is safe, I'd feel easier if it were better protected. All this reminds me of the 
old trapper out in the West who had been assured by some 'city folks' who 
had hired him as a guide that all matters regarding life and death were pre- 
arranged. 

" 'It is ordained,' said one of the party to the old trapper, 'that you are 
to die at a certain time, and no one can kill you before that time. If you 
met a thousand Indians, and your death had not been ordained for that day, 
,you would certainly escape.' 

" 'I don't exactly understand this "ordained" business,' was the trapper's 
reply. 'I don't care to run no risks. I always have my gun with me, so that 
if I come across some reds I can feel sure that I won't cross the Jordan 
'thout taking some of 'em with me. Now, for instance, if I met an Indian 
in the woods; he drew a bead on me — sayin', too, that he wasn't more'n ten 
feet away — an' I didn't have nothing to protect myself; say it was as bad as 
that, the redskin bein' dead readv to kill me: now, even if it had been 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



n 



ordained that the Indian (sayin' he was a good shot), was to die that very 
minute, an' I wasn't, what would I do 'thout my gun?' 

'There you are," the President remarked; "even if it has been ordained 
that the city of Washington will never be taken by the Southerners, what 
would we do in case they made an attack upon the place, without men and 
heavy guns?" 



KEPT UP THE ARGUMENT. 

Judge T. Lyle Dickey of Illinois related that when the excitement over 
the Kansas-Nebraska bill first broke out, he was with Lincoln and several 
friends attending court. One evening several persons, including himself 




'S>ikf^^^. 



and Lincoln, were discussing the slavery question. Judge Dickey con- 
tended that slavery was an institution which the Constitution recognized, 
and which could not be disturbed. Lincoln argued that ultimately slavery 
must become extinct. "After awhile," said Judge Dickey, "we went upstairs 
to bed. There were two beds in our room, and I remember that Lincoln sat 
up in his night shirt on the edge of the bed arguing the point with me. At 
last we went to sleep. Early in the morning I woke up and there was Lin- 



74 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

coin half sitting up in bed. 'Dickey,' said he, 'I tell you this nation cannot 
exist half slave and half free.' 'Oh, Lincoln,' said I, 'go to sleep.' " 



EQUINE INGKATITUDE. 

President Lincoln, while eager that the United States troops should be 
supplied with the most modern and serviceable weapons, often took occa- 
sion to put his foot down upon the mania for experimenting with which 
some of his generals were afflicted. .While engaged in these experiments 
much valuable time was wasted, the enemy was left to do as he thought best, 
no battles were fought, and opportunities for winning victories allowed to 
pass. 

The President was an exceedingly practical man, and when an invention, 
idea or discovery was submitted to him, his first step was to ascertain how any 
or all of them could be applied in a way to be of benefit to the army. As to 
experimenting with "contrivances" which, to his mind, could never be put 
to practical use, he had little patience. 

"Some of these generals," said he, "experiment so long and so much 
with new-fangled, fancy notions that when they are finally brought to a head 
they are useless. Either the time to use them has gone by, or the machine, 
when put in operation, kills more than it cures. 

"One of these generals, who has a scheme for 'condensing' rations, is will- 
ing to swear his life away that his idea, when carried to perfection, will reduce 
the cost of feeding the Union troops to almost nothing, while the soldiers 
themselves will get so fat that they'll 'bust out' of their uniforms. Of course, 
uniforms cost nothing, and real fat men are more active and vigorous than 
lean, skinny ones, but that is getting away from my story. 

"There was once an Irishman — a cabman — who had a notion that he 
could induce his horse to live entirely on shavings. The latter he could get 
for nothing, while corn and oats were pretty high-priced. So he daily les- 
sened the amount of food to the horse, substituting shavings for the corn and 
oats abstracted, so that the horse wouldn't know his rations were being cut 
down. 

"However, just as he had achieved success in his experiment, and the 
horse had been taught to live without other food than shavings, the ungrate- 
ful animal 'up and died,' and he had to buy another. 

"So far as this genera! referred to is concerned, I'm afraid the soldiers 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



75 



■will all be dead at the time wlien his experiment is demonstrated as thor- 
oughly successful.'' 



'TWAS "MOVING DAY." 



Speed, who was a prosperous young merchant of Springfield, reports that 
Lincoln's personal effects consisted of a pair of saddle-bags, containing two 



or three lawbooks, and a 



RidiuE 



borrowed 



appearance in Springfield, 
a single bedstead would 
said, "It is probably 
not enough money to pay 
fered to trust him, he 



few pieces of clothing, 
horse, he thus made his 
When he discovered that 
cost seventeen dollars he 
cheap enough, but I have 
for it." When Speed of- 
said : "If I fail here as a 




lawyer, I will probably never pay you at all." Then Speed offered to share 
a large double bed with him. 

"Where is your room?" Lincoln asked. 

"Upstairs," said Speed, pointing from the store leading to his room. 
Without saying a word, he took his saddle-bags on his arm, went upstair*, 



76 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

set them down on the floor, came down again, and with a face beaming with 
pleasure and smiles, exclaimed : "Well, Speed, I'm moved." 



"ABE'S" HAIR NEEDED COMBING. 

"By the way," remarked President Lincoln one day to Colonel Cannon, 
a close personal friend, "I can tell you a good story about my hair. When I 
was nominated at Chicago, an enterprising fellow thought that a great many 
people would like to see how 'Abe' Lincoln looked, and, as I had not long 
before sat for a photograph, the fellow, having seen it, rushed over and 
bought the negative. 

"He at once got no end of wood-cuts, and so active was their circulation 
they were soon selling in all parts of the country. 

"Soon after they reached Springfield, I heard a boy crying them for sale 
on the streets. 'Here's your likeness of "Abe" Lincoln !' he shouted. 'Buy 
one; price only two shillings! Will look a great deal better when he gets 
his hair combed !' " 



WOULD "TAKE TO THE WOODS." 

Secretary of State Seward was bothered considerably regarding the 
complication into which Spain had involved the United States government in 
connection with San Domingo, and related his troubles to the President. 
Negotiations were not proceeding satisfactorily, and things were mixed 
generally. We wished to conciliate Spain, while the negroes had appealed 
against Spanish oppression. 

The President did not, to all appearances, look at the matter seriously, 
but, instead of treating the situation as a grave one, remarked that Seward's 
dilemma reminded him of an interview between two negroes in Tennessee. 

One was a preacher, who, with the crude and strange notions of his igno- 
rant race, was endeavoring to admonish and enlighten his brother African 
of the importance of religion and the danger of the future. 

"Dar are," said Josh, the preacher, "two roads befo' you, Joe; be ca'ful 
which ob dese you take. Narrow am de way dat leads straight to destruc- 
tion; but broad am de way dat leads right to damnation." 

Joe opened his eyes with affright, and under the spell of the awful danger 



YARNS 'AND STORIES. 



77 



before hiin, exclaimed. "Josh, take which road you please; I shall go troo de 
woods." 

"I am not willing," concluded the President, "to assume any new troubles 
or responsibilities at this time, and shall therefore avoid going to the one 
place with Spain, or with the negro to the other, but shall 'take to the woods.' 
We will maintain an honest and strict neutrality." 



LINCOLN CARRIED HER TRUNK. 



"My first strong impression of Mr. Lincoln," says a lady of Springfield, 
"was made by one of his kind deeds. I was going with a little friend for my 
first trip alone on the railroad cars. It was an epoch of my life. I had planned 
for it and dreamed of it for weeks. The 
day I was to go came, but as the hour of 
the train approached, the hackman, through 
some neglect, failed to call for my trunk. 
As the minutes went on, I realized, in a 
panic of grief, that I should miss the train. 
I was standing by the gate, my hat and 
gloves on, sobbing as if my heart would 
break, when Mr. Lincoln came by. 

" 'Why, what's the matter?' he asked, 
and I poured out all my story. 

" 'How big's the trunk? There's still 
time, if it isn't too big.' And he pushed 
through the gate and up to the door. My 
mother and I took him up to my room, 
where my little old-fashioned trunk stood, 
locked and tied. 'Oh, ho,' he cried, 'wipe 
your eyes and come on quick.' And before 
I knew what he was going to do, he had 
shouldered the trunk, was down stairs, and 
striding out of the yard. Down the street 
he went, fast as his long legs could carry 

him, I trotting behind, drying my tears as I went. We reached the station 
in time. Mr. Lincoln put me on the train, kissed me good-bye, and told me 
to have a good time. It was just like him." 




78 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

BOAT HAD TO STOP. 

Lincoln never failed to take part in all political campaigns in Illinois, as 
his reputation as a speaker caused his services to be in great demand. As 
was natural, he was often the target at which many of the "Smart Alecks" 
of that period shot their feeble bolts, but Lincoln was so ready with his 
answers that few of them cared to engage him a second time. 

In one campaign Lincoln was frequently annoyed by a young man who 
entertained the idea that he was a born orator. He had a loud voice, was 
full of language, and so conceited that he could not understand why the 
people did not recognize and appreciate his abilities. 

This callow politician delighted in interrupting public speakers, and at 
last Lincoln determined to squelch him. One night while addressing a 
large meeting at Springfield, the fellow became so offensive that "Abe" 
dropped the threads of his speech and turned his attention to the tormentor. 

"I don't object," said Lincoln, "to being interrupted with sensible ques- 
tions, but I must say that my boisterous friend does not always make in- 
quiries which properly come under that head. He says he is afiflicted with 
headaches, at which I don't wonder, as it is a well-known fact that nature 
abhors a vacuum, and takes her own way of demonstrating it. 

"This noisy friend reminds me of a certain steamboat that used to run 
on the Illinois river. It was an energetic boat, was always busy. When 
they built it, however, they made one serious mistake, this error being 
in the relative sizes of the boiler and the whistle. The latter was usually 
busy, too, and people w'ere aware that it was in existence. 

"This particular boiler to which I have reference was a six-foot one, and 
did all that was required of it in the way of pushing the boat along; but 
as the builders of the vessel had made the whistle a six-foot one, the con- 
sequence was that every time the whistle blew the boat had to stop." 



McCLELIAN'S "SPECIAL TALENT." 

President Lincoln one day remarked to a number of personal friends 
who had called upon him at the \\niite House : 

"General McClellan's tardiness and unwillingness to fight the enemy 
or follow up advantages gained, reminds me of a man back in Illinois who 
knew a few law phrases but whose lawyer lacked aggressiveness. The 



V/IRNS 'AND STORIES. 



79 



man finally lost all patience and springing to his feet vociferated, 'Why don't 
you go at him with a fi. fa., a demurrer, a capias, a surrebutter, or a ne exeat, 
or something; or a nundam pactum or a non est?' 

"I wish AlcClellan would go at the enemy with something — I don't care 
what. General ^McClellan is a pleasant and scholarly gentleman. He is an 
admirable engineer, but he seems to have a special talent for a stationary 
engine." 



HOW "JAKE" GOT AWAY. 



One of the last, if not the very last story told by President Lincoln, was 
to one of his Cabinet who came to see him, to ask if it would be proper to 

permit "Jake" Thompson to 



slip through Maine in dis- 
guise and embark for Port- 
land. 

The President, as usual, 
was disposed to be merci- 
ful, and to permit the 
arch-rebel to pass unmo- 
,^j-,_^ -1 Y>i>^ ,, 1 1 lested, but Secretary Stanton 

I I ^>y \ "■"'*~~^».^^_^' .^ 11^*°°^ urged that he should be ar- 

I I v&^ T^ ' ~"-~^ / \ rested as a traitor. 

I "I' - -' "^^'^JS^^^ ^*'*'**' "^y permitting him to es- 

\\ \\1 ^^^^^^^.^ *^^P^ ^^^ penalties of trea- 

"' son," persisted the War Sec- 

retary, "you sanction it." 
"Well," replied Mr. Lincoln, "let me tell you a story. 
There was an Irish soldier here last summer, wdio 
wanted something to drink stronger than water, and 
stopped at a drug-shop, where he espied a soda-foun-< 
tain. 'Mr. Doctor,' said he, 'give me, plase, a glass 
of soda-wather, an' if yez can put in a few drops of whis- 
key unbeknown to any one, I'll be obleeged.' Now, 
continued Mr. Lincoln, "if 'Jake' Thompson is permitted to go through 
Maine unbeknown to any one, what's the harm? So don't have him 
arrested." 




8o "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

MORE LIGHT AND LESS NOISE. 

The President was bothered to death by those persons who boisterously 
demanded that the War be pushed vigorously; also, those who shouted their 
advice and opinions into his weary ears, but who never suggested anything 
practical. These fellows were not in the army, nor did they ever take any in- 
terest, in a personal way, in military matters, except when engaged in dodg- 
ing drafts. 

"That reminds me," remarked Mr. Lincoln one day, "of a farmer who 
lost his way on the Western frontier. Night came on, and the embarrass- 
ments of his position were increased by a furious tempest which suddenly 
burst upon him. To add to his discomfort, his horse had given out, leaving 
him exposed to all the dangers of the pitiless storm. 

"The peals of thunder were terrific, the frequent flashes of lightning af- 
fording the only guide on the road as he resolutely trudged onward, leading 
his jaded steed. The earth seemed fairly to tremble beneath him in the war 
of elements. One bolt threw him suddenly upon his knees. 

"Our traveler was not a prayerful man, but finding himself involuntarily 
brought to an attitude of devotion, he addressed himself to the Throne of 
Grace in the following prayer for his deliverance : 

" 'O God ! hear my prayer this time, for Thou knowest it is not often that 
I call upon Thee. And, O Lord ! if it is all the same to Thee, give us a little 
more light and a little less noise.' 

"I wish," the President said, sadly, "there was a stronger disposition man- 
ifested on the part of our civilian warriors to unite in suppressing the rebel- 
lion, and a little less noise as to how and by whom the chief executive office 
shall be administered." 



ONE BULLET AND A HATFUL. 

Lincoln made the best of everything, and if he couldn't get what he 
wanted he took what he could get. In matters of policy, while President 
he acted according to this rule. He would take perilous chances, even when 
the result was, to the minds of his friends, not worth the risk he had run. 

One day at a meeting of the Cabinet, it being at the time when it 
seemed as though war with England and France could not be avoided, Sec- 
retary of State Seward and Secretary of War Stanton warmly advocated 




STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS, "the nian wlio made Lincuai Tresident of the United 
States," as his admirers were fond ol declaring, was. from 1850 to i860, the most con- 
spicuous Democrat in the country. The name "The Little Giant" was given him because 
of his small stature and big head, and the joint debates, in 1858. between Douglas and 
Lincoln, was known as "the Battle of the Giants." He was elected United States Senator 
bv the Legislature of Illinois, but died, in 1861, before his third term was ended. Senator 
'Douglas was a Democratic candidate for the Presidficy in i860, was born in Vermont in 
■ and made his home in Illinois :r. 'S-J^ f8l) 




WILLIAM H. HERNDON, the law partner at Springfield, Illinois, of Mr. Lincoln 
for many years previous to the election of the latter as President of the United States, was 
also one of his biographers. President-elect Lincoln spent most of his time, alter his 
nomination until his departure for Washington to be inaugurated, in the dingy law office, 
and the sign, "Lincoln & Ilcrndon," is still preserved. Lincoln asked that his name remain 
on the sign until he returned from Washington, and Herndon agreed. The name was 
never erased. Judge Herndon was a native of Kentucky, born in l8lS, nine years later 
tha' Lincoln, and died at Springfield in 1891. (82) 



YARNS AND STORIES. 83 

that the United States maintain an attitude, the result of which would have 
been a declaration of hostilities by the European Powers mentioned. 

■'Why take any more chances than are absolutely necessary?" asked 
the President. 

"We must maintain our honor at any cost," insisted Secretary Seward. 

"We would be branded as cowards before the entire world," Secretary 
Stanton said. 

"But why run the greater risk when we can take a smaller one?" queried 
the President calmly. "The less risk we run the better for us. That re- 
minds me of a story I heard a day or two ago, the hero of which was on the 
firing line during a recent battle, where the bullets were flying thick. 
Finally his courage gave way entirely, and throwing down his gun, he ran 
for dear life. 

"As he was fiying along at top speed he came across an officer who drew 
his revolver and shouted. 'Go back to your regiment at once or I will shoot 
you !' 

" 'Shoot and be hanged,' the racer exclaimed. 'What's one bullet to a 
whole hatful?'" 



LINCOLN'S STORY TO PEACE COMMISSIONERS. 

Among the reminiscences of Lincoln left by Editor Henry J. Raymond, 
is the following: 

Among the stories told by Lincoln, which is freshest in my mind, one 
which he related to me shortly after its occurrence, belongs to the history of 
the famous interview on board the River Queen, at Hampton Roads, between 
himself and Secretary Seward and the rebel Peace Commissioners. It was 
reported at the time that the President told a "little story" on that occasion, 
and the inquiry went around among the newspapers, "What was it?" 

The New York Herald published what purported to be a version of it, 
but the "point" was entirely lost, and it attracted no attention. Being in 
Washingto-- a few days subsequent to the interview with the Commissioners 
(my previous sojourn there having terminated about the first of last August), 
I asked Mr. Lincoln one day if it was true that he told Stephens, Hunter and' 
Campbell a story. 

"Why, yes," he replied, manifesting some surprise, "but has it leaked 



§4 "ABE" LIXCOLS'S 

out? I was in hopes nothing would be said about it, lest some over-sensitive 
people should imagine there was a degree of levity in the intercourse between 
us." He then went on to relate the circumstances which called it out. 

"You see," said he, "we had reached and were discussing the slavery 
question. Mr. Hunter said, substantially, that the slaves, always accus- 
tomed to an overseer, and to work upon compulsion, suddenly freed, as they 
would be if the South should consent to peace on the basis of the 'Emanci- 
pation Proclamation,' would precipitate not only themselves, but the entire 
Southern society, into irremediable ruin. No work would be done, nothing 
would be cultivated, and both blacks and whites would starve !" 

Said the President: "I waited for Seward to answer that argument, but 
as he was silent, I at length said : ']\Ir. Hunter, you ought to know a great 
deal better about this argument than I, for you have always lived under the 
slave system. I can only say, in reply to your statement of the case, that it 
reminds me of a man out in Illinois, by the name of Case, who undertook, 
a few years ago, to raise a very large herd of hogs. It was a great trouble to 
feed them, and how to get around this was a puzzle to him. At length he 
hit on the plan of planting an immense field of potatoes, and, when they were 
sufficiently grown, he turned the whole herd into the field, and let them 
have full swing, thus saving not only the labor of feeding the hogs, but also 
that of digging the potatoes. Charmed with his sagacity, he stood one day 
leaning against the fence, counting his hogs, when a neighbor came along. 

" 'Well, well,' said he, 'Mr. Case, this is all very fine. Your hogs are 
doing very well just now, but you know out here in Illinois the frost comes 
early, and the ground freezes for a foot deep. Then what you going to do?' 

"This was a view of the matter which Mr. Case had not taken into 
account. Butchering time for hogs was 'way on in December or January ! 
He scratched his head, and at length stammered : 'Well, it may come pretty 
hard on their snouts, but I don't see but that it will be "root, hog, or die" ' " 



"ABE" GOT THE WORST OF IT. 

When Lincoln was a young lawyer in Illinois, he and a certain Judge 
once got to bantering one another about trading horses; and it was agreed 
that the next morning at nine o'clock they should make a trade, the horses 
to be unseen up to that hour, and no backing out, under a forfeiture of $25. 
At the hour appointed, the Judge came up, leading the sorriest-looking 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



85 



specimen of a horse ever seen in those parts. In a few minutes I\Ir. Lincoln 
was seen approaching with a wooden saw-horse upon his shoulders. 

Great were the shouts and laughter of the crowd, and both were greatly 




increased when Lincoln, on survej'ing the Judge's animal, set down his saw- 
horse, and exclaimed : 

"Well, Judge, this is the first time I ever got the worst of it in a horse 
trade." 



IT DEPENDED UPON HIS CONDITION. 



The President had made arrangements to visit New York, and was 
told that President Garrett, of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, would be 
glad to furnish a special train. 

"I don't doubt it a bit," remarked the President, "for I know Mr. Gar- 
rett, and like him very well, and if I believed — v.hich T don't, by any means 
— all the things some people say about his \secesh' principles, he might say 
to you as was said by the Superintendent of a certain railroad to a son of one 
of my predecessors in ofifice. Some two years after the death of President 
Harrison, the son of his successor in tliis oftice wanted to take his father on 
an excursion somewhere or other, and went to the Superintendent's office 
to order a special train. 

"This Superintendent was a Whig of the most uncompromising sort, 
who hated a Democrat more than all other things on the earth, and promptlv 
refused the young man's request, his language being to t!ie effect th?t this 



86 "ABE" L1.\C0L:\"S 

particular railroad was not running special irainii for the accommodation of 
Presidents of the United States just at that season. 

"The son of the President was much surprised and exceedingly annoyed. 
'Why,' he said, 'you have run special Presidential trains, and I know it. 
Didn't you furnish a special train for the funeral of President Harrison?' 

■■ 'Certainly we did,' calmly replied the Superintendent, with no relaxation 
of his features, 'and if you will only bring your father here in the same shape 
as General Harrison was, you shall have the best train on the road.' " 

When the laughter had subsided, the President said: "I shall take 
pleasure in accepting Mr. Garrett's offer, as I have no doubts whatever as 
to his loyalty to the United States government or his respect for the occupant 
of the Presidential office." 



"GOT DOWN TO THE RAISINS." 

A. B. Chandler, chief of the telegraph office at the War Department, 
occupied tb.ree rooms, one of which was called "the President's room," so 
much of his time did Mr. Lincoln spend there. Here he v.ould read over the 
telegrams received for the several heads of departments. Three copies of all 
messages received were inade — one for the President, one for the War 
Department records and one for Secretary Stanton. 

Mr. Chandler told a story as to the manner in which the President read 
the despatches : 

"President Lincoln's copies were kept in what we called the 'President's 
drawer' of the 'cipher desk.' He would come in at any time of the night 
or day, and go at once to this drawer, and take out a file of telegrams, and 
begin at the top to read them. His position in running over these tele- 
grams was sometimes very curious. 

"He had a habit of sitting frequently on the edge of his chair, with his 
right knee dragged down to the floor. I remember a curious expression of 
his when he got to the bottom of the new telegrams and began on those that 
he had read before. It was, 'Well, I guess I have got down to the raisins.' 

"The first two or three times he said this he made no explanation, and 
I did not ask one. But one day, after he had made the remark, he looked 
up under his eyebrows at me with a funny twinkle in his eyes, and said : 'I 
used to know a little girl out West who sometimes was inclined to eat too 



YARXS AXD STORIES. 



87 



much. One day she ate a good many more raisins than she ought to, and 
followed them up with a quantity of other goodies. They made her very sick. 
After a time the raisins began to come. 

■'She gasped and looked at her mother and said: 'Well, 1 will be better 
now I guess, for I have got down to the raisins.' " 



"HONEST ABE" SWALLOWS HIS ENEMIES. 

" 'Honest Abe" Taking Them on tne Half-Shell" was one of the cartoons 
published in i860 by one of the illustrated periodicals. As may be seen, it 
represents Lincoln in a "Political Oyster House," preparing to swallow two 



rOLlTICAI. OYS TER HOUSE. 

KaraiiKslls !c Sofls)>elF3 

Coniiantiy oiv hand. 

Ismocrots fried, Stewed,Boa£(e4 

or of\*h* half SXatl . 




of his Democratic opponents for the Presidency — Douglas and Breckinridge. 
He performed the feat at the November election. The Democratic party 
was hopelessly split in i860. The Northern wing nominated Stephen A. 
Douglas, of Illinois, as their candidate, the Southern wing naming John C. 
Breckinridge, of Kentucky: the Constitutional Unionists (the old American 
or Know-Nothing part^-) placed John Bell, of Tennessee, in the field, and 



88 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

against these ^vas put Abraham Lincohi, who received the support of the 
AboHtionists. 

Lincohi made short work of his antagonists when the election came 
around. He received a large majority in the Electoral College, while nearly 
every Northern State voted majorities for him at the polls. Douglas had 
but twelve votes in the Electoral College, while Bell had thirty-nine. The 
votes of the Southern States, then preparing to secede, were, for the most 
part, thrown for Breckinridge. The popular vote was: Lincoln, 1,857,610; 
Douglas, 1,365,976; Breckinridge, 847,953; Bell, 590,631; total vote, 
4,662,170. In the Electoral College Lincoln received 180; Douglas, 12; 
Breckinridge, 72; Bell, 39; Lincoln's majority over all, 57. 



SAVING HIS WIND. 



Judge H. W. Beckwith of Danville, 111., said that soon after the Ottawa 
debate between Lincoln and Douglas he passed the Chenery House, then 
the principal hotel in Springfield. The lobby was crowded w'ith partisan 
leaders from various sections of the state, and Mr. Lincoln, from his greater 
height, was seen above the surging mass that clung about him like a swarm of 
bees to their ruler. The day was warm, and at the first chance he broke 
away and came out for a little fresh air, wiping the sweat from his face. 

"As he passed the door he saw me," said Judge Beckwith, "and, taking 
my hand, inquired for the health and views of his 'friends over in Vermillion 
county.' He ;was assured they were W'ide awake, and further told that 
they looked forward to the debate between him and Senator Douglas with 
deep concern. From the shadow that went quickly over his face, the pained 
look that came to give way quickly to a blaze of eyes and quiver of lips, I 
felt that Mr. Lincoln had gone beneath my mere words and caught my inner 
and current fears as to the result. And then, in a forgiving, jocular way 
peculiar to him, he said: 'Sit down; I have a moment to spare, and will tell 
you a story.' Having been on his feet for some time, he sat on the end of 
the stone step leading into the hotel door, while I stood closely fronting 
him. 

" 'You have,' he continued, 'seen two men about to fight?' 

" 'Yes, many times.' 

" 'Well, one of them brags about what he means to do. He jum^^s high 



YARNS AXD STORIES. 



89 



in the air, cracking his heels togel!;er. smites his tists, and wastes his breath 
trying to scare somebody. You see the other fellow, he says not a word.' — 
here Mr. Lincoln's voice and manner changed to great earnestness, and 
repeating — 'you see the other man says not a word. His arms are at his 
sides, his fists are closely doubled up, liis head is drawn to the shoulder, and 
his teeth are set firm together. He is saving his wind for the fight, and as 
sure as it comes off he will win it, or die a-trying." " 



RIGHT FOR ONCE, ANYHO'W. 

Where men bred in courts, accustomed to the world, or versed in diplo- 
macy, would use some subterfuge, or would make a polite speech, or give 
a shrug of the shoulders, as the means of getting out of an embarrassing posi- 
tion, Lincoln raised a laugh by some bold west-country anecdote, and moved 
off in the cloud of merriment produced by the 
joke. When Attorney-General Bates was re- 
monstrating apparently against the appoint- 
ment of some indifferent lawyer to a place of 
judicial importance, the President interposed 
with : "Come now. Bates, he's not half as bad 
as you think. Besides that, I must tell you, 
he did me a good turn long ago. When I 
took to the law, I was going 
to court one morning, with 
some ten or twelve miles of 
bad road before me, and I 
had no horse. 

'"The Judge overtook me 
in his carriage. 

" 'Hallo, Lincoln! are you 
not going to the court-house? 
Come in and I wiU give you 
a seat!' 

"Well, I got in, and the 
Judge went on reading his 
papers. Presently the carriage 
struck a stump on one side of the road, then it hopped uff to the other. I 




90 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

looked out, and 1 saw the driver was jerking from side to side in his seat, so 
I says: 

" 'Judge, I think your coachman lias been taking a little too much this 
morning.' 

" 'Well, 1 declare, Lincoln,' said he, 'I should not much wonder if you 
were right, for he has nearly upset me half a dozen times since starting." 

"So, putting his head out of the window, he shouted, 'Why, you infernal 
scoundrel, you are drunk !' 

"Upon which, puIHng up his horses, and turning round with great gravity, 
the coachman said : 

" 'Begorra ! that's the first rightful decision that you have given for the 
last twelvemonth.' " 

While the company were laughing, the President beat a quiet retreat 
from the neighborhood. 



"PITY THE POOR ORPHAN." 

After the War was well on, and several battles had been fought, a lady 
from Alexandria asked the President for an order to release a certain church 
which had been taken for a Federal hospital. The President said he could 
do nothing, as the post surgeon at Alexandria was immovable, and then 
asked the lady w'hy she did not donate money to build a hospital. 

"We have been very much embarrassed by the war," she replied, "and 
our estates are much hampered." 

"You are not ruined?" asked the President. 

"No, sir, but we do not feel that we should give up anythmg we have 
left." 

The President, after some reflection, then said : "There are more bat- 
tles yet to be fought, and I think God would prefer that your church be 
devoted to the care and alleviation of the sufferings of our poor fellows. 
So, madam, you will excuse me. I can do nothing for you." 

Afterward, in speaking of this incident, President Lincoln said that tiic 
lady, as a representative of her class in Alexandria, reminded him of the 
story of the young man who had an aged father and mother owning con- 
siderable property. The young man being an only son, and believing that 
the old people had outlived their usefulness, assassinated them both. He 
was accused, tried and convicted of the murder. When the Judge came to 



YARNS 'AND STORIES. 



91 



pass sentence upon him, and called upon him to give any reason he might 
have why the sentence of death should not be passed upon him, he with 
great promptness replied that he hoped the court would be lenient upon 
him because he was a poor orphan ! 



"BAP." McNABB'S ROOSTER. 



It is true that Lincoln did not drink, never swore, was a stranger to 
smoking and lived a moral life generally, but he did like horse-racing and 

chicken fighting. New 
-^^^^^ ^_ Salem, Illinois, where 

^-it: ^ v _:=S3^ ,— Lincoln was "clerking," 

was known the neigh- 
borhood around as a 
■■fast" town, and the av- 
erage young man made 
no very desperate resis- 
tance when tempted to 
join in the drinking and 
gambling bouts. 

"Bap." McNabb was 
famous for his ability in 
both the raising and the 
purchase of roosters of 
prime fighting quality. 
and when his birds 
fought the attendance 
was large. It was be- 
cause of the "flunking" 
^.-,^ of one of "Bap.'s" roosters that Lincoln 
'■ -^^ was enabled to make a point when criticis- 
ing ISIcClellan's unreadiness and lack of en- 
ergy. 
One night there vvas a fight on the schedule, one of "Bap." McNabb's 
birds being a contestant. "Bap." brought a little red rooster, whose fighting 
qualities had been well advertised for days in advance, and much interest 




92 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

was manifested in the outcome. As tlie result of these contests was gen- 
erally a quarrel, in which each man, charging foul play, seized his victim, they 
chose Lincoln umpire, relying not only on his fairness but his ability to en- 
force his decisions. Judge Ilerndon. in his "Abraham Lincoln," says of 
this notable event : 

"I cannot improve on the description furnished me in February, 1865, 
by one who was present. 

"They formed a ring, and the time having arrived, Lincoln, with one 
hand on each hip and in a squatting position, cried, 'Ready.' Into the ring 
they toss their fowls, 'Bap.'s' red rooster along with the rest. But no sooner 
had the little beauty discovered what was to be done than he dropped his 
tail and ran. 

"The crowd cheered, while 'Bap.,' in disappointment, picked him up 
and started away, losing his quarter (entrance fee) and carrying home his 
dishonored fowl. Once arrived at the latter place he threw his pet down with 
a feeling of indignation and chagrin. 

"The little fellow, out of sight of all rivals, mounted a woodpile and 
proudly flirting out his feathers, crowed with all his might. 'Bap.' looked 
on in disgust. 

" 'Yes, you little cuss,' he exclaimed, irreverently, 'you're great on dress 
parade, but not worth a darn in a fight.' " 

It is said, according to Judge Herndon, that Lincoln considered Mc- 
Clellan as "great on dress parade," but not so much in a fight. 



A LOW-DOWN TRICK. 



When Lincoln Avas a candidate of thiC Know Nothings for the State Leg- 
islature, the party was over-confident, and the Democrats pursued a still- 
hunt. Lincoln was defeated. He compared the situation to one of the 
camp-followers of General Taylor's army, who had secured a barrel of cider, 
erected a tent, and commenced selling it to the thirsty soldiers at twenty- 
five cents a drink, but he had sold but little before another sharp one set 
up a tent at his back, and tapped the barrel so as to flow on his side, and 
peddled out No. i cider at five cents a drink, of course, getting the latter's 
entire trade on the borrowed capital. 

"The Democrats," said Mr. Lincoln, "had played Knownothing on a 



YARXS AND STORIES. 



93 



cheaper scale than liad the real devotees of Sam, and had raked down his 
pile with his own cider!" 



END FOR END. 




Judge H. VV. Beckwith, of Danville, 111., in his "Personal Recollections 
of Lincoln," tells a story which is a good example of Lincoln's way of con- 
densing the law and the facts of an issue in a story : "A man, hy vile words, 
first provoked and then made a bodily 
attack upon another. The latter, in 
defending himself, gave the other much A, 
the v.orst of the encounter. The aggres-^^^ 
sor, to get even, had the one who thrashed j^. 
him tried in our Circuit Court on a charge ^ 
of an assault and battery. Mr. Lincoln 
defended, and told the jury that his client 
was in the fix of a man who, in going 
along the highway with a pitchfork on 
his shoulder, was attacked by a fierce dog 
that ran out at him from a farmer's door- 
yard. In i)arrying off the brute with the 
fork, its prongs stuck into the brute and 
killed him. 

" 'What made you kill my dog?' said 
the farmer. 

bite 



'What made him trv to 



me?' 

ii i 



go at 



nun 



But why did you not 
with the other end of the pitchfork?' 

" 'Why did he not come after me with 
his other end?' 

"At this Mr. Lincoln whirled about 
in his long arms an imaginary dog, and 
pushed its tail end toward the jury. This 
was the defensive plea of 'son assault 
demesne' — loosely, that 'the other fellow brought on the fight,'— quickly 
told, and in a way the dullest mind would grasp and retain." 



94 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

LET SIX SKUNKS GO. 

The President had decided to select a new War Minister, and the leading 
Republican Senators thought the occasion was opportune to change the 
whole seven Cabinet ministers. They, therefore, earnestly advised him to 
'make a clean sweep, and select seven new men, and so. restore the waning 
confidence of the country. 

The President listened with patient courtesy, and when the Senators 
had concluded, he said, with a characteristic gleam of humor in his eye : 

"Gentlemen, your request for a change of the whole Cabinet because I 
have made one change reminds me of a story I once heard in Illinois, of a 
farmer who was much troubled by skunks. His wife insisted on his trying to 
get rid of them. 

■'He loaded his shotgun one moonlight night and awaited developments. 
After some time the wife heard the shotgun go off, and in a few minutes the 
farmer entered the house. 

" 'What luck have you?" asked she. 

" 'I hid myself behind the wood-pile," said the old man, 'with the shotgun 
pointed towards the hen roost, and before long there appeared not one 
skmik, but seven. I took aim, blazed away, killed one, and he raised such a 
fearful smell that I concluded it was best to let the other six go.' " 

The Senators lanehed and retired. 



HOW HE GOT BLACKSTONE. 

The following story was told by Mr. Lincoln to 'Slv. A. J. Conant, the 
artist, who painted his portrait in Springfield in i860: 

"One day a man who ^yas migrating to the West drove up in front of 
my store with a wagon which contained his family and household plunder. 
Fie asked me if I would buy an old barrel for whicii he had no room in his 
wagon, and which he said contained nothing of special value. I did not want 
it, but to oblige him I bought it, and paid him, I think, half a dollar for it. 
Without further examination, I put it away in the store and forgot all abo.it 
it. Some time after, in overhauling things, I came upon the barrel, and, 
emptying it upon the floor to see what it contained. I found at the bottom of 
the rubbish a complete edition of Blackstone's Commentaries. I began to 
read those famous works, and I had plenty of time; for during the long 



'YARNS AND STORIES. 



95 



summer days, when the farmers were busy with their crops, my customers 
were few and far between. The more I read"- — this he said with unusual 
emphasis — "the more intensely interested I became. Never in my whole life 
was my mind so thoroughly absorbed. I read until I devoured them." 



A JOB FOR THE NEW CABINETMAKER. 

This cartoon, labeled "A Job for the New Cabinetmaker," was printed in 
"Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper" on February 2d, 1861, a month 
and two days before Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated President of the 
United States. The South- 
ern states had seceded from 
the Union, the Confederacy 
was established, with Jefifer- 
son Davis as its President, 
the Union had been split in 
two, and the task Lincoln 
had before him was to glue 
the two parts of the Repub- 
lic together. In his famous 
speech, delivered a short 
time before his nomination 
for the Presidency by the 
Republican National Con- 
vention at Chicago, in i860, 
Lincoln had said : '"A house 
divided against itself can- 
not stand; this nation can- 
not exist half slave and half 
free." After his inaugura- 
tion as President. Mr. Lin- 
coln went to v>ork to glue 
the two pieces together, and 
after four years of bloody 
war, and at immense cost, 
the job was finished; the 

house of the Great -American Republic was no longer divided: the severed 
sections — the North and the South — were cemented tightly; the slaves were 




96 "ABE" LIXCOLN'S 

freed, peace was firmly established, and the Union of slates was glued together 
so well that the nation is stronger now than ever before. Lincoln was just 
the man for that job, and the work he did will last for all time. "The New 
Cabinetmaker" knew his business thoroughly, and finished his task of glue- 
ing in a workmanlike manner. At the very moment of- its completion, five 
days after the surrender of Lee to Grant at Appomattox, the Martyr Presi- 
dent fell at the hands of the assassin, J- Wilkes Booth. 



"I CAN STAND IT IF THEY CAN." 

United States Senator Benjamin Wade, of Ohio, Henry Winter Davis, 
of Maryland, and Wendell Phillips were strongly opposed to President 
Lincoln's re-election, and Wade and Davis issued a manifesto. Phillips 
made several warm speeches against Lincoln and his policy- 

When asked if he had read the manifesto or any of Phillips' speeches, the 
President replied: 

"I have not seen them, nor do I care to see them. I have seen enough 
to satisfy me that I am a failure, not only in the opinion of the people in 
rebellion, but of many distinguished politicians of my own party. But time 
will show whether I am right or they are right, and I am content to abide 
its decision. 

"I have enough to look after without giving much of my time to the 
consideration of the subject of who shall be my successor in ofifice. The 
position is not an easy one; and the occupant, whoever he may be, for the 
next four years, will have little leisure to pluck a thorn or plant a rose in his 
own pathway." 

It was urged that this opposition must be embarrassing to his Admin- 
istration, as well as damaging to the party. He replied : "Yes, that is 
true; but our friends. Wade, Davis, Phillips, and others are hard to please. 
I am not capable of doing so. I cannot please them without wantonly vio- 
lating not only my oath, but the most vital principles upon which our 
government was founded. 

"As to those who, like Wade and the rest, see fit to depreciate my policy 
and cavil at my official acts, I shall not complain of them. I accord them 
the utmost freedom of speech and liberty of the press, but shall not change 
the policy I have adopted in the full belief that I am right. 

"I feel on this subject as an old Illinois farmer once expressed himself 



YARNS AND STORIF.S. 



97 



V. hile eating cheese. He was interrupted in tlie midst of his repast b}- the 
entrance of his son, who exclaimed. 'Hold on, dad! there's skippers in that 
cheese you're eating !' 

" 'Never mind, Tom,' said he, as he kept on munching his cheese, 'if 
they can stand it I can.' " 



LINCOLN MISTAKEN FOR ONCE. 

President Lincoln was compelled to acknowledge that he made at least 
one mistake in "sizing up" men. One day a very dignified man called at the 





\\'hite House, and Lincoln's heart fell when his visitor approached. The 
latter was portly, his face was full of apparent anxiety, and Lincoln w.n.*^ 
willing to wager a year's salary that he represented some Society for the 
Easy and Speedy Repression of Rebellions. 

The caller talked fluently, but at no time did he give advice or suggi'st 



98 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

a way to put down the Confederacy. He was full of humor, told a clever 
story or two, and was entirely self-possessed. 

At length the President inquired, "You are a clergyman, are you not. sir?" 

"Not by a jug full," returned the stranger heartily. 

Grasping him by the hand Lincoln shook it until the visitor squirmed. 
"You must lunch with us. I am glad to see you. I was afraid you were a 
preacher." 

"I went to the Chicago Convention," the caller said, "as a friend of Mr. 
Seward. 1 have watched you narrowly ever since your inauguration, and 
I called merely to pay my respects. What I want to say is this: I think 
you are doing everything for the good of the country that is in the power 
of man to do. You are on the right track. As one of your constituents I 
now say to you, do in future as you d please, and I will support you !" 

This was spoken with tremendous effect. 

"Why," said Mr. Lincoln in great astonishment, "I took you to be a 
preacher. I thought you had come here to tell me how to take Richmond," 
and he again grasped the hand of his strange visitor. 

Accurate and penetrating as Mr. Lincoln's judgment was concerning 
men, for once he had been wholly mistaken. The scene was comical in the 
extreme. The two men stood gazing at each other. A smile broke from 
the lips of the solemn wag and rippled over the wide expanse of his homely 
face like sunlight overspreading a continent, and Mr. Lincoln was con- 
vulsed with laughter. 

He stayed to lunch. 



FORGOT EVERYTHING HE KNEW. 

President Lincoln, while entertaining a few friends, is said to have 
related the following anecdote of a man who knew too much : 

During the administration of President Jackson there was a singular 
young gentleman employed in the Public Postoflice in Washington. 

His name was G.; he was from Tennessee, the ion of a widow, a neighbor 
of the President, on which account the old hero had a kind feeling for him, 
and always got him out of dii^culties with some of the higher ofificials, to 
whom his singular interference was distasteful. 

Among other things, it is said of him that while employed in the Gen- 
eral Postoflice, on one occasion he had to copy a letter to !\Iajor 11. , a high 




WAKU HILL I y ,; of the District of Cn]. mc Lincoln wai 

President, and the man whose duty it was to guard the person of the Chief Magistrate,' was 
a strange character. He was possibly the most intimate of the President's friends, making 
his home at the White House and having access to him at all hours of the day and night. 
President Lincoln had insisted upon Lamon going to Washington with him, telling him 
"You must go and go to stay." Just before the President was assassinated Lamon went 
to Richmond, and before his departure begged the President not to expose himseJ/ and, 
particularly, not to go to the theater. Lamon was a Virginian, and died in 1896. (go) 




lY^^IAX TRUaILL'LL .'.c.;. c;L^ud UnitLd btatcs Sciiaiur iroiu liliiiuii not long 
before Lincoln was nominated for the Presidency b\' reason of Lincoln's supporters 
throwing their votes for him. Lincohi did not wish to see a Deniccrat elected. Trumbull 
was one of the President's closest friends during the War, and a strong supporter of 
his policy at home and abroad. He was one of those who disagreed with President Grant, 
supported Greeley for the Presidency, and soon after that joined the ranks of the Democ- 
racy. He >v.-i< a 'lativc of Ohio, born in iSi.i. and died in 1804. He was a man of marked 
ability. (100) 



YARNS AND STORIES. loi 

official, in answer to an application made by an old gentleman in Virginia 
or Pennsylvania, for the establishment of a new postoffice. 

The writer of the letter said the application could not be granted, in 
consequence of the applicant's "proximity" to another office. 

When the letter came into G.'s hand to copy, being a great stickler for 
plainness, he altered "proximity" to "nearness to." 

Major H. observed it, and asked G. why he altered his letter. 

"Why," replied G., "because I don't think the man would understand 
what you mean by proximity." 

"Well," said Major H., "try him; put in the 'proximity' again." 

In a few days a letter was received from the applicant, in which he very 
indignantly said that his father had fought for liberty in the second war for 
independence, and he should like to have the name of the scoundrel who 
brought the charge of proximity or anything else wrong against him. 

"There," said G., "did I not say so?" 

G. carried his improvements so far that Mr. Berry, the Postmaster- 
General, said to him: "I don't want you any longer; you know too much." 

Poor G. went out, but his old friend got him another place. 

This time G.'s ideas underwent a change. He was one day very busy 
writing, when a stranger called in and asked him where the Patent Office 
was. 

"I don't know," said G. 

"Can you tell me where the Treasury Department is?" said the stranger. 

"No." said G. 

"Nor the President's house?" 

"No." 

The stranger finally asked him if he knew where the Capitol was. 

"No," replied G. 

"Do you live in Washington, sir." 

"Yes, sir," said G. 

"Good Lord! and don't you know where the Patent Office, Treasury, 
President's House and Capitol are?" 

"Stranger," said G., "I was turned out of the postofifice for knowing too 
much. I don't mean to offend in that way again. 

"I am paid for keeping this book. 

"I believe I know that much; but if you find me knowing anything more 
you may take my head." 

"Good morning," said the stranger. 



102 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 



HE lOVED A GOOD STOEY. 

Judge Breese, of the Supreme bench, one of the most distinguished of 
American jurists, and a man of great personal dignity, was about to open 
court at Springfield, when Lincoln called out in his hearty way: "Hold on, 
Breese ! Don't open court yet ! Here's Bob Blackwell just going to tell a 
story !" The Judge passed on without replying, evidently regarding it as 
beneath the dignity of the Supreme Court to delay proceedings for the sake 
of a story. 



HEELS RAN AWAY WITH THEM. 

In an argument against the opposite political party at one time during 
a campaign, Lincoln said : "]\Iy opponent uses a figurative expression to 
the effect that 'the Democrats are vulnerable in the heel, but they are sound 
in the heart and head.' The first branch of the figure — that is the Democrats 
are vulnerable in the heel — I admit is not merely figuratively but literally 
true. Who that looks but for a mom.ent at their hundreds of officials scam- 
pering away with the public money to Texas, to Europe, and to every spot 
of the earth where a villain may hope to find refuge from justice, can at all 
doubt that they are most distressingly affected in their heels with a species 
of running itch? 

"It seems that this malady of their heels operates on the sound-headed 
and honest-hearted creatures very much as the cork leg in the comic song 
did on its owner, which, Vvhen he once got started on it, the more he tried 
to stop it, the more it would run away. 

"i\t the hazard of wearing this point threadbare, I will relate an anecdote 
the situation calls to my mind, which seems to be too strikingly in point 
to be omitted. A witty Irish soldier, who was always boasting of his bravery 
when no danger was near, but who invariably retreated without orders at 
the first charge of the engagement, being asked by his captain why he did 
so, replied, 'Captain, I have as brave a heart as Julius Cassar ever had, but 
somehow or other, whenever danger approaches, my cowardly legs will run 
away with it.' 

"So with the opposite party — they take the public money into their hands 
for the most laudable purpose that wise heads and honest hearts can dictate; 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



103 



but before they can possibly get it out again, their rascally, vulnerable heels 
will run away with them." 



WANTED TO BURN HIM DOWN TO THE STUMP. 



Preston King once introduced A. J. Bleeker to the President, and the 
utter, being an applicant for office, was about to hand Mr. Lincoln his vouch- 
ers, when he was asked to read them. Bleeker had not read very far when 
the President disconcerted him by the exclamation, "Stop a minute ! You 

remind me exactly of the man who killed the dog; 
in fact, you are just like him." 

"In what respect?" asked Bleeker, not feeling 
he had received a compliment. 

"Well," replied the President, "this man had 

made up his mind to kill his dog, an ugly brute, 

and proceeded to knock out his brains with a 

club. He continued striking the dog after the 

latter was dead until a friend 

protested, exclaiming, 'You 

needn't strike him any 

more; the dog is dead; you 

killed him at the first blow.' 

"'Oh, yes,' said he, 'I 

know that ; but I believe in 

punishment after death.' 

So, I see, you do." 

Bleeker acknowledged 
it was possible to overdo a 
good thing, and then came 
back at the President with 
an anecdote of a good 
priest who converted an In- 
dian from heathenism to 
Christianity; the only diffi- 
culty he had with him was 
to get him to pray for his enemies. "This Indian had been taught to over- 
come and destroy all his friends he didn't like," said Bleeker, "but the priest 




104 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

told him that while that might be the Indian method, it was not the doctrine 
of Christianity or the Bible. 'Saint Paul distinctly says,' the priest told him, 
'If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink.' 

"The Indian shook his head at this, but when the priest added, 'For in 
so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head,' Poor Lo was overcome 
with emotion, fell on his knees, and with outstretched hands and uplifted 
eyes invoked all sorts of blessings on the heads of all his enemies, supplicating 
for pleasant hunting-grounds a large supply of squaws, lots of papooses, and 
all other Indian comforts. 

"Finally the good priest interrupted him (as you did me, Mr. President), 
exclaiming, 'Stop, my son ! You have discharged your Christian duty, and 
have done more tlian enough.' 

" 'Oh, no, father,' replied the Indian; 'let me pray! I want to bum him 
down to the stump!' " 



HAD A "KICK" COMING. 

During the war, one of the Northern Governors, who was able, earnest 
and untiring in aiding the administration, but always complaining, sent 
dispatch after dispatch to the War Office, protesting against the methods 
used in raising troops. After reading all his papers, the President said, in a 
cheerful and reassuring tone to the Adjutant-General : 

"Never mind, never mind; those dispatches don't mean anything. Just 
go right ahead. The Governor is like a boy I once saw at a launching. 
When everything was ready, they picked out a boy and sent him under the 
ship to knock away the trigger and let her go. 

"At the critical moment everything depended on the boy. He had to do 
the job well by a direct, vigorous blow, and then lie flat and keep still while 
the boat slid over him. 

"The boy did everything right, but he yelled as if he were being mur- 
dered from the time he got under the keel until he got out. I thought the 
hide was all scraped off his back, but he wasn't hurt at all. 

"The master of the yard told me that this boy was always chosen for 
that job; that he did his work well; that he never had been hurt, but that he 
always squealed in that way. 

"That's just the way with Governor . Make up your mind that he 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



105 



is not hurt, and that he is doing the work right, and pay no attention to his 
squealing. He only wants to make you understand how hard his task is, and 
that he is on hand performing it." 



THE CASE OF BETSY ANN DOUGHERTY. 

Many requests and petitions made to Mr. Lincoln when he was President 
were ludicrous and trifling, but he always entered into them with that humor- 
loving spirit that was such a re- 
lief from the grave duties of his 
great office. 

Once a party of Southerners 
called on him in behalf of one 
Betsy Ann Dougherty. The 
spokesman, who was an ex-Gov- 
ernor, said: 

"Mr. President, Betsy Ann 
Dougherty is a good woman. She 
lived in my county and did my 
washing for a long time. Her 
husband went off and joined the 
rebel army, and I wish you would 
give her a protection paper." The 
solemnity of this appeal struck 
Mr. Lincoln as uncommonly ri- 
diculous. 

The two men looked at each 
other — the Governor desperately 
in earnest, and the President 
masking his humor behind the 
gravest exterior. At last Mr. 
Lincoln asked, with inimitable 
gravity, "Was Betsy Ann a good 
washerwoman?" "Oh, yes, sir, 
she was, indeed." 

"Was your Betsy Ann an obliging woman?" 
very kind," responded the Governor, soberly. 




'Yes, she was certainly 



io6 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

"Could she do other things than wash?" continued Mr. Lincoln with the 
same portentous gravity. 

"Oh, yes; she was very kind — very." 

"Where is Betsy Ann?" 

"She is now in New York, and wants to come back to Missouri, but she 
is afraid of banishment." 

"Is anybody meddling with her?" 

"No; but she is afraid to come back unless you will give her a protection 
paper." 

Thereupon Mr. Lincoln wrote on a visiting card the following: 

"Let Betsy Ann Dougherty alone as long as she behaves herself. 

"A. LINCOLN." 

He handed this card to her advocate, saying, "Give this to Betsy Ann." 
"But, Mr. President, couldn't you write a few words to the ofificers that 
would insure her protection?" 

"No," said Mr. Lincoln, "officers have no time now to read letters. Tell 
Betsy Ann to put a string in this card and hang it around her neck. When 
the ofificers see this, they will keep their hands off your Betsy Ann." 



HAD TO WEAR A WOODEN SWORD. 

Captain "Abe" Lincoln and his company (in the Black Hawk War) were 
without any sort of military knowledge, and both were forced to acquire such 
knowledge by attempts at drilling. Which was the more awkward, the 
"squad" or the commander, it would have been difficult to decide. 

In one of Lincoln's earliest military problems was involved the process 
of getting his company "endwise" through a gate. Finally he shouted, 
"This company is dismissed for two minutes, when it will fall in again on the 
other side of the gate !" 

Lincoln was one of the first of his company to be arraigned for unmilitary 
conduct. Contrary to the rules he fired a gun "within the limits," and had 
his sword taken from him. The next infringement of rules was by some of 
the men, who stole a quantity of liquor, drank it, and became unfit for duty, 
straggling out of the ranks the next day, and not getting together again 
until late at night. 

For allowing this lawlessness the captain was condemned to wear a 



YARXS .-l.\'D STORIES. 



107 



wooden sword for two days. These were merely interesting but trivia! in- 
cidents of tlie campaign. Lincoln was from the very first popular with his 
men, although one of^them told him to "go to the devil." 



"ABE" STIRRING THE "BLACK" COALS. 



Under the caption, "The American Difficulty," "Punch" printed on May 
nth, 1861, the cartoon reproduced here. The following text was placed 



beneath the illustration : PRESIDENT ABE 
this would be, if it were not for the blacks !" 



"What a nice White House 
It was the idea in England, 
and, in fact, in all the coun- 
tries on the European con- 
tinent, that the War of the 
Rebellion was fought to se- 
cure the freedom of the 
negro slaves. Such was not 
the case. The freedom of 
the slaves was one of the nec- 
I essary consequences of the 
Civil War, but not the cause 
of that bloody four years' 
conflict. The War was the 
result of the secession of the 
states of the South from 
the Union, and President 
"Abe's" main aim was to 
compel the seceding states 
to resume their places in the 
Federal Union of states. 

The blacks did not 
bother President "Abe" in 
the least, as he knew he 
would be enabled to give them their freedom when the proper time came. 
He had the project of freeing them in his mind long before he issued his 
Emancipation Proclamation, the delay in promulgating that document being- 
due to the fact that he did not wish to estrange the hundreds of thousands 




io8 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

of patriots of the border states who were fighting for the preservation of the 
Union, and not for the freedom of the negro slaves. President "Abe" had 
patience, and everything came out all right in the end. « 



GETTING RID OF AN ELEPHANT. 

Charles A. Dana, who was Assistant Secretary of War under Mr. Stanton, 
relates the following : A certain Thompson had been giving the government 
considerable trouble. Dana received information that Thompson was about 
to escape to Liverpool. 

Calling upon Stanton. Dana was referred to Mr. Lincoln. 

"The President was at the White House, business hours were over, Lin- 
coln was washing his hands. 'Hallo, Dana,' said he, as I opened the door, 
'what is it now?' 'Well, sir,' I said, 'here is the Provost Marshal of Portland, 
who reports that Jacob Thompson is to be in town to-night, and inquires 
what orders we have to give.' 'What does Stanton say?' he asked. 'Arrest 
him,' I replied. 'Well,' he continued, drawling his words, 'I rather guess 
not. When you have an elephant on your hands, and he wants to run away, 
better let ^^im run.' " 



GROTESCIUE, YET FRIGHTFUL. 

The nearest Lincoln ever came to a fight was when he w as in the vicinity 
of the skirmish at Kellogg's Grove, in the Black Hawk War. The rangers 
arrived at the spot after the engagement and helped bury the five men 
who were killed. 

Lincoln told Noah Brooks, one of his biographers, that he "remembered 
just how those men looked as we rode up the little hill where their camp 
was. The red light of the morning sun was streaming upon them as they 
lay, heads toward us, on the ground. And every man had a round, red spot 
on the top of his head about as big as a dollar, where the redskins had taken 
his scalp. It was frightful, but it was grotesque; and the red sunlight seemed 
to paint everything all over." 

Lincoln paused, as if recalling the vivid picture, and added, somewhat 
irrelevantly, "I remember that one man had on buckskin breeches." 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



109 



"ABE" WAS NO DTJDE. 



Always indifferent in matters of dress, Lincoln cut but small figure in 
social circles, even in the earliest days of Illinois. His trousers were too 

short, his hat too small, and, as a rule, the 
buttons on the back of his coat were nearer his 
shoulder blades than his waist. 

No man was richer than his fellows, and 
there was no aristocracy; the w-omen wore 
linsey-woolsey of home manufacture, and dyed 
them in accordance with the tastes of the 
wearers; calico was rarely seen, and a woman 
wearing a dress of that material was the envy 
of her sisters. 

There being no shoemakers the women 
wore moccasins, and the men made their own 
boots. A hunting shirt, leggins made of skins, 
buckskin breeches, dyed green, constituted an 
apparel no maiden could withstand. 




CHAKACTERISTIC OF LINCOLN. 

One man who knew Lincoln at New Salem, 
says the first time he saw him he was lying on 
a trundle-bed covered with books and papers 
and rocking a cradle with his foot. 

The whole scene was entirely character- 
istic — Lincoln reading and studying, and at 
the same time helping his landlady by quieting 
her child. 

A gentleman who knew Mr. Lincoln well 
in early manhood says : "Lincoln at this period 
had nothing but plenty of friends." 

After the customary hand-shaking on one 
occasion in the White House at Washington 
several gentlemen came forward and asked the 
President for his autograph. One of them 



no "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

gave his name as "Cruikshank." "That reminds me," said Mr. Lincoln, "of 
what I used to be called when a young man — 'Long-shanks!'" 



"PLOUGH ALL 'ROUND HIM." 

Governor Blank went to the War Department one day in a towering 
rage : 

"I suppose you found it necessary to make large concessions to him, as 
he returned from you perfectly satisfied," suggested a friend. 

"Oh, no," the President replied, "I did not concede anything. You have 
heard how that Illinois farmer got rid of a big log that was too big to haul 
out, too knotty to split, and too wet and soggy to burn. 

" 'Well, now,' said he, in response to the inquiries of his neighbors one 
Sunday, as to how he got rid of it, 'well, now, boys, if you won't divulge the 
secret, Lll tell you how I got rid of it — I ploughed around it.' 

"Now," remarked Lincoln, in conclusion, "don't tell anybody, but that's 
the way I got rid of Governor Blank. I ploughed all round him. but it took 
me three mortal hours to do it, and I was afraid every minute he'd see what 
I was at." 



"I'VE LOST MY APPLE." 

During a public "reception," a farmer from one of the border counties 
of Virginia told the President that the Union soldiers, in passing his farm, 
had helped themselves not only to hay, but his horse, and he hoped the 
President would urge the proper officer to consider his claim immediately. 

Mr. Lincoln said that this reminded him of an old acquaintance of his, 
"Jack" Chase, a lumberman on the Illinois, a steady, sober man. and the 
best raftsman on the river. It was quite a trick to take the logs over the 
rapids; but he was skilful with a raft, and always kept her straight in the 
channel. Finally a steamer was put on, and "Jack" was made captain of her. 
He always used to take the wheel, going through the rapids. One day 
when the boat was plunging and wallowing along the boiling current, and 
"Jack's" utmost vigilance was being exercised to keep her in the narrow 
channel, a boy pulled his coat-tail and hailed him with : 

"Say, Mister Captain ! I wish you would just stop your boat a minute — 
I've lost my apple overboard !" 



YARNS 'AND STORIES. 



Ill 



LOST HIS CERTIFICATE OF CHARACTER. 



Mr. Lincoln prepared his first inaugural address in a room OAer 
a store in Springfield. His only reference works were Henry Clay's great 
compromise speech of 1850. 
Andrew Jackson's Procla- 
mation against Nullifica- 
tion, Webster's great reply 
to Hayne, and a copy of the 
Constitution. 

When Mr. Lincoln start- 
ed for Washington, to be 
inaugurated, the inaugural 
address was placed in a spe- 
cial satchel and guarded 
with special care. At Harris- 
burg the satchel was given in 
charge of Robert T. Lin- 
coln, who accompanied his 
father. Before the train 
started from Harrisburg the 
precious satchel was miss- 



ing. Robert 



thought 



he 




had given it to a Vvaiter at 
the hotel, but a long search 
failed to reveal the missing- 
satchel with its precious 
document. Lincoln was an- 
noyed, angry, and finally in 
despair. He felt certain that 

the address was lost beyond recovery, and, as it only lacked ten days until 
the inauguration, he had no time to prepare another. He had not even pre- 
served the notes from which the original copy had been written. 

Mr. Lincoln went to Ward Lamon, his former law partner, then one 
of his body-guards, and informed him of the loss in the following words : 

"Lamon. I guess I have lost my certificate of moral character, written 
by myself. Bob has lost my gripsack containing my inaugural address." 



112 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

Of course, the misfortune reminded him of a story. 

"I feel," said Mr. Lincoln, "a good deal as the old member of the Meth- 
odist Church did when he lost his wife at the camp meeting, and went up to 
an old elder of the church and asked him if he could tell him whereabouts in 
h — ! his wife was. In fact, I am in a worse fix than my Methodist friend, 
for if it were only a wife that were missing, mine would be sure to bob up 
somewhere." 

The clerk at the hotel told Mr. Lincoln that he would probably find his 
missing satchel in the baggage-room. Arriving there, Mr. Lincoln saw 3 
satchel which he thought was his, and it was passed out to him. His key 
fitted the lock, but alas ! when it was opened the satchel contained only a 
soiled shirt, some paper collars, a pack of cards and a bottle of whisky. A 
few minutes later the satchel containing the inaugural address was found 
among the pile of baggage. 

The recovery of the address also reminded Mr. Lincoln of a story, which 
is thus narrated by Ward Lamon in his "Recollections of Abraham Lin- 
coln" : 

The loss of the address and the search for it was the subject of a great 
deal of amusement. Mr. Lincoln said many funny things in connection with 
the incident. One of them was that he knew a fellow once who had saved 
up fifteen hundred dollars, and had placed it in a private banking establish- 
ment. The bank soon failed, and he afterward received ten per cent of his 
investment. He then took his one hundred and fifty dollars and deposited 
it in a savings bank, where he was sure it would be safe. In a short time this 
bank also failed, and he received at the final settlement ten per cent on the 
amount deposited. When the fifteen dollars was paid over to him, he held 
it in his hand and looked at it thoughtfully ; then he said, "Now, darn you, 
I have got you reduced to a portable shape, so I'll put you in my pocket." 
Suiting the action to the word, Mr. Lincoln took his address from the bag 
and carefully placed it in the inside pocket of his vest, but held on to the 
satchel with as much interest as if it still contained his "certificate of moral 
character." 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



"3 



NOTE PEESENTED FOR PAYMENT. 

The great English funny paper, London "Punch," printed this cartoon 
on September 27th, 1862. It is intended to convey the idea that Lincohi, 
having asserted that the 
war would be over in ninety 
days, had not redeemed his 
word : The text under the 
cartoon in Punch was: 

MR. SOUTH TO MR. 
NORTH: "Your 'ninety- 
day' promissory note isn't 
taken up yet, sirree!" 

The tone of the cartoon 
is decidedly unfriendly. 
The North finally took up 
the note, but the South had 
to pay it. "Punch" was 
not pleased with the result, 
but "Mr. North" did not 
care particularly what this 
periodical thought about it. 
The United States, since 
then, has been prepared to 
take up any and all of its 

obligations when due, but it must be acknowledged that at the time this 
cartoon was published the outlook was rather dark and gloomy. Lincoln 
did not despair, however; but although business was in rather bad shape 
for a time, the financial skies finally cleared, business was resumed at the 
old stand, and Uncle Sam's credit is ncwv as good, or better, than other 
nations' cash in hand. 




DOO WAS A "LEETIE BIT AHEAD." 



Lincoln could not sympathize with those Union generals who were 
prone to indulge in high-sounding promises, but whose performances did 
not by any means come up to their predictions as to what they would do 



114 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

if they ever met the enemy face to face. He said one day, just after one of 
these braggarts had been soundly thrashed by the Confederates : 

"These fellows remind me of the fellow who owned a dog which, so he 
said, just hungered and thirsted to combat and eat up wolves. It was a 
difficult matter, so the owner declared, to keep that dog from devoting the 
entire twenty-four hours of each day to the destruction of his enemies. 
He just 'hankered' to get at them. 

"One day a party of this dog-owner's friends thought to have some sport. 
These friends heartily disliked wolves, and were anxious to see the dog eat 
up a few thousand. So they organized a hunting party and invited the dog- 
owner and the dog to go with them. They desired to be personally present 
when the wolf-killing was in progress. 

"It was noticed that the dog-owner was not over-enthusiastic in th» 
matter; he pleaded a 'business engagement,' but as he was the most notori- 
ous and torpid of the town loafers, and wouldn't have recognized a 'business 
engagement' had he met it face to face, his excuse was treated with con- 
tempt. Therefore he had to go. 

"The dog, however, was glad enough to go, and so the party started 
out. Wolves were in plenty, and soon a pack was discovered, but when 
the 'wolf-hound' saw the ferocious animals he lost heart, and, putting his tail 
between his legs, endeavored to slink away. At last — after many trials — he 
was enticed into the small growth of underbrush where the wolves had 
secreted themselves, and yelps of terror betrayed the fact that the battle 
was on. 

"Away flew the wolves, the dog among them, tlie hunting party follow- 
ing on horseback. The wolves seemed frightened, and the dog was restored 
to public favor. It really looked as if he had the savage creatures on the run, 
as he was fighting heroically when last sighted. 

"Wolves and dog soon disappeared, and it was not until the party arrived 
at a distant farmhouse that news of the combatants was gleaned. 

" 'Have you seen anything of a wolf-dog and a pack of wolves around 
here?' was the question anxiously put to the male occupant of the house, who 
stood idty leaning upon the gate. 

" 'Yep,' was the short answer. 

" 'How were they going?' 

" 'Purty fast.' 

" 'What was their position when you saw them?' 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



115 



" 'Well,' replied the farmer, in a most exasperatingly deliberate way, 'the 
dog was a leetle bit ahead.' 

"Now, gentlem.en," concluded the President, "that's the position in which 
you'll find most of these bragging generats when they get into a fight with 
the enemy. That's why I don't like military orators." 



"ABE'S" FIGHT 'WITH NEGEOES. 

When Lincoln was nineteen years of age, he went to work for a Mr. Gen- 
try, and, in company with Gentry's son, took a flatboat load of provisions 
to New Orleans. At a plantation six miles below Baton Rouge, while the 




boat was tied up to the shore in the dead hours of the night, and Abe and 
Allen were fast asleep in the bed, they were startled by footsteps on board. 
They knew instantly that it was a gang of negroes come to rob and perhaps 
murder them. Allen, thinking to frighten the negroes, called out, "Bring 
the guns, Lincoln, and shoot them!" Abe came without the guns, but he 
fell among the negroes with a huge bludgeon and belabored them most 



n6 -ABE" LINCOLN'S 

cruelly, following them onto the bank. They rushed back to their boat 
and hastily put out into the stream. It is said that Lincoln received a scar 
in this tussle which he carried with him to his grave. It was on this trip 
that he saw the workings of slavery for the first time. The sight of New 
Orleans was like a wonderful panorama to his eyes, for never before had he 
seen wealth, beauty, fashion and culture. He returned home with new and 
larger ideas and stronger opinions of right and justice. 



NOISE LIKE A TURNIP. 

"Every man has his own peculiar and particular way of getting at and 
doing things," said President Lincoln one day, "and he is often criticised 
because that way is not the one adopted by others. The great idea is to 
accomplish what you set out to do. When a man is successful in whatever 
he attempts, he has many imitators, and the methods used are not so closely 
scrutinized, although no man who is of good intent will resort to mean, 
underhanded, scurvy tricks. 

"That reminds me of a fellow out in Illinois, who had better luck in get- 
ting prairie chickens than any one in the neighborhood. He had a rusty old 
gun no other man dared to handle; he never seemed to exert himself, being 
listless and indifferent when out after game, but he always brought home 
all the chickens he could carry, while some of the others, with their finely 
trained dogs and latest improved fowling-pieces, came home alone. 

" 'How is it, Jake?' inquired one sportsman, who, although a good 
shot, and knew something about hunting, was often unfortunate, 'that you 
never come home without a lot of birds?' 

"Jake grinned, half closed his eyes, and replied: 'Oh, I don't know that 
there's anything queer about it. I jes' go ahead an' git 'em.' 

" 'Yes, I know you do; but how do you do it?' 

" 'You'll tell.' 

" 'Honest, Jake, I won't say a word. Hope to drop dead this minute.' 

" 'Never say nothing, if I tell you?' 

" 'Cross my heart three times.' 

"This reassured Jake, who put his mouth close to the ear of his eager 
questioner, and said, in a whisper : 

" 'All you got to do is jes' to hide in a fence corner an' make a noise like 
a turnip. That'll bring the chickens every time.' " 



■3?' i' 



4 



>|:^:Hh> 



<±:> 



.^- 



4» #!# 






ELIHU B \\ •XSHBL'RM- i u u ill pokt.ii ^i as the man who dibi.o\trLd Grant,' 
being a resident of Galena, Illinois, and Congressman from that district when the War 
began. He stoutly supported Grant when an almost unanimous demand for the General's 
dismissal arose after the battle ot Shiloh, and Lincoln favoring Grant, also, the latter was 
retained. He was Secretary of State in President's Grant's first Cabinet for a few weeks, 
and, upon his resignation, was appointed Minister to France. He remained there until 
1877. Born in Maine in 1816. he died in 1S87. (117) 




HANNIBAL HAMLIN. Vice-President ot the United States during the first term 
of President Lincoln, served his native State of Maine as Congressinan, United States 
Senator and Governor. He was a man of great ability, and heartily in sympathy with 
the Chief Magistrate in the general line of policy pursued during the War. although, like 
most Eastern Republicans, he did not favor the nomination of a Western candidate for the 
Presidency. He was put upon the ticket to conciliate the Eastern men. After the War 
he was sent as Minister to Spain. He was born in 1809 and died in 1891. (118) 



YARNS AND STORIES. 119 

WAEDINO OFF GOD'S VENGEANCE. 

When Lincoln was a candidate for re-election to the Illinois Legislature 
in 1836, a meeting was advertised to be held in the court-house in Spring- 
fi-eld, at which candidates of opposing parties were to speak. This gave men 
of spirit and capacity a fine opportunity to show the stuff of which they 
were made. 

George Forquer was one of the most prominent citizens; he had been a 
Whig, but became a Democrat — possibly for the reason that by means of 
the change he secured the position of Government land register, from Presi- 
dent Andrew Jackson. He had the largest and finest house in the city, and 
there was a new and striking appendage to it, called a lightning-rod! The 
meeting was very large. Seven Whig and seven Democratic candidates 
spoke. 

Lincoln closed the discussion. A Kentuckian (Joshua F. Speed), who 
had heard Henry Clay and other distinguished Kentucky orators, stood 
near Lincoln, and stated afterward that he "never heard a more effective 
speaker; . . the crowd seemed to be swayed by him as he pleased." 

What occurred during the closing portion of this meeting must be given in 
full, from Judge Arnold's book: 

"Forquer, although not a candidate, asked to be heard for the Demo- 
crats, in reply to Lincoln. He was a good speaker, and well known through- 
out the county. His special task that day was to attack and ridicule the 
young countryman from Salem. 

"Turning to Lincoln, who stood within a few feet of him, he said : This 
young man must be taken down, and I am truly sorry that the task devolves 
upon me.' He then proceeded, in a very overbearing way, and with an 
assumption of great superiority, to attack Lincoln and his speech. He was 
fluent and ready with the rough sarcasm of the stump, and he went on to 
ridicule the person, dress and arguments of Lincoln with so much success 
that Lincoln's friends feared that he would be embarrassed and overthrown." 

(The Clary's Grove boys were present, and were restrained with difficulty 
from "getting up a fight" in behalf of their favorite (Lincoln), they and all 
his friends feeling that the attack was ungenerous and unmanly.) 

"Lincoln, however, stood calm, but his flashing eye and pale cheek 
indicated his indignation. As soon as Forquer had closed he took the stand, 
and first answered his opponent's arguments fully and triumphantly. So 
impressive were his words and manner that a hearer (Joshua F. Speed) 



120 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

believes that he can remember to this day and repeat some of the expres- 
sions. 

"Among other things he said : 'The gentleman commenced his speech 
by saying that "this young man," alluding to me, " must be taken down." 
I ain not so young in years as I am in the tricks and the trades of a poli- 
tician, but,' said he, pointing to Forquer, 'live long or die yotmg, I would 
rather die now than, like the gentleman, change my politics, and with the 
change receive an office worth $3,000 a year, and then,' continued he, 'feel 
obliged to erect a lightning-rod over iny house, to protect a guilty con- 
science from an offended God 1' " 



JEFF DAVIS AND CHARLES THE FIRST. 

Jefferson Davis insisted on being recognized by his official title as com- 
mander or President in the regular negotiation with the Government. This 
Mr. Lincoln would not consent to. 

Mr. Hunter thereupon referred to the correspondence between King 
Charles the First and his Parliament as a precedent for a negotiation between 
a constitutional ruler and rebels. Mr. Lincoln's face then wore that inde- 
scribable expression which generally preceded his hardest hits, and he 
remarked : "Upon questions of history, I must refer you to Mr. Seward, for 
he is posted in such things, and I don't profess to be; but my only distinct 
recollection of the matter is, that Charles lost his head." 



LOVED SOLDIERS' HUMOR. 

Lincoln loved anything that savored of wit or humor among the sol- 
diers. He used to relate two stories to show, he said, that neither death nor 
danger could quench the grim humor of the American soldier: 

"A soldier of the Army of the Potomac was being carried to the rear of 
battle with both legs shot oft', who, seeing a pie-woman, called out, 'Say, 
old lady, are them pies sewed or pegged?' 

"And there was another one of the soldiers at the battle of Chancellors- 
ville, whose regiment, waiting to be called into the fight, was taking coft'ee. 
The hero of the story put to his lips a crockery nnig Vv'hich he had carried 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



121 



with care through several campaigns. A stray bullet, just missing the 
drinker's head, dashed the mug into fragments and left only the handle on 
his finger. Turning his head in that direction, he scowled, 'Johnny, you 
can't do that again!' " 



BAD TIME rOR A BARBECUE. 



Captain T. W. S. Kidd of Springfield was the crier of the court in the 
days when Mr. Lincoln used to ride the circuit. 

"I was younger than he," says Captain Kidd, "but he had a sort of admira- 
tion for me, and never failed to get me into his stories. I was a story-teller 

myself in those days, and he used 
to laugh very heartily at some of 
the stories I told him. 

"Now and then he got me 
into a good deal of trouble. I 
was a Democrat, and was in pol- 
itics more or less. A good many 
of our Democratic voters at 
that time were Irishmen. They 
came to Illinois in the days of the 
old canal, and did their honest 
share in making that piece of in- 
r"'/ ternal improvement an accom- 
plished fact. 

"One time Mr. Lincoln told 
the story of one of those impor- 
tant young fellows — not an Irish- 
man — who lived in every town, 
and have the cares of state on 
their shoulders. This young fel- 
low met an Irishman on the street, and called to him, officiously: 'Oh, 
Mike, I'm awful glad I met you. We've got to do something to wake up 
the boys. The campaign is coming on, and we've got to get out voters. 
We've just had a meeting up here, and we're going to have the biggest bar- 
becue that ever was heard of in Illinois. We are going to roast two whole 
oxen, and we're going to have Douglas and Governor Cass and some one 




122 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

from Kentucky, and all the big- Democratic guns, and we're going to have 
a great big time.' 

" 'By dad, that's good !' says the Irishman. 'The byes need stirrin' up.' 

" 'Yes, and you're on one of the committees, and you want to hustle 
around and get them waked up, Mike.' 

" 'When is the barbecue to be?' asked Mike. 

" 'Friday, two weeks.' 

" 'Friday, is it? Well, Til make a nice committeeman, settin' the barbecue 
on a day with half of the Dimocratic party of Sangamon county can't ate a 
bite of mate. Go on wid ye.' 

"Lincoln told that story in one of his political speeches, and when the 
laugh was over he said : 'Now, gentlemen, I know that story is true, for 
Tom Kidd told it to me.' And then the Democrats would make trouble for 
me for a week afterward, and I'd have to explain." 



HE'D SEE IT AGAIN. 

About two years before Lincoln was nominated for the Presidency he 
went to Bloomington, Illinois, to try a case of some importance. His oppo- 
nent — who afterward reached a high place in his profession — was a young 
man of ability, sensible but sensitive, and one to whom the loss of a case 
was a great blow. He therefore studied hard and made much preparation. 

This particular case was submitted to the jury late at night, and, although 
anticipating a favorable verdict, the young attorney spent a sleepless night 
in anxiety. Early next morning he learned, to his great chagrin, that he 
had lost the case. 

Lincoln met him at the court-house some time after the jury had come, 
in, and asked him what had become of his case. 

With lugubrious countenance and in a melancholy tone the young man 
replied, "It's gone to hell." 

"Oh, well," replied Lincoln, "then you will see it again." 



CALL ANOTHER WITNESS. 

When arguing a case in court, Mr. Lincoln never used a word which the 
dullest juryman could not understand. Rarely, if ever, did a Latin term 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



123 



creep into his arguments. A lawyer, quoting a legal maxim one day in 
court, turned to Lincoln, and said: "That is so, is it not, Mr. Lincoln?" 
"If that's Latin." Lincoln replied, "you had better call another witness." 



A CONTEST WITH LITTLE "TAD." 



Mr. Carpenter, the artist, relates the following incident : "Some photog- 
raphers came up to the White House to make some stereoscopic studies for 
me of the President's office. They requested a dark closet in which to develop 
the pictures, and, without a thought that I was infringing upon anybody's 

rights, I took them to an unoccupied room 
of which little 'Tad' had taken possession a 
few days before, and, with the aid of a 
couple of servants, had fitted up a minia- 
ture theater, with stage, curtains, orchestra, 
stalls, parquette and all. Knowing that the 
use required would interfere with none of 
his arrangements, I led the way to this 
apartment. 

"Everything went on well, and one or 
two pictures had been taken, when suddenly 
there was an uproar. The operator came 
back to the office and said that 'Tad' had 
taken great ofTense at the occupation of his 
room without his consent, and had locked 
the door, refusing all admission. 

"The chemicals had been taken inside, 
and there was no way of getting at them, 
he having carried off the key. In the midst 
of this conversation 'Tad' burst in, in a fear- 
ful passion. He laid all the blame upon me 
— said that I had no right to use his room, 
and the men should not go in even to get 
their thiags. He had locked the door and they should not go there again — 
'they had no business in his room !' 

"Mr. Lincoln was sitting for a photograph, and was still in the chair. 




124 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

He said, very mildly, 'Tad, go and unlock the door.' Tad went off muttering 
into his mother's room, refusing to obey. I followed him into the passage, 
but no coaxing would pacify him. Upon my return to the President, I found 
him still patiently in the chair, from which he had not risen. He said: 'Has 
not the boy opened the door?' I replied that we could do nothing with 
him — he had gone ofif in a great pet. Mr. Lincoln's lips came together firmly, 
and then, suddenly rising, he strode across the passage with the air of one 
bent on punishment, and disappeared in the domestic apartments. Directly 
he returned with the key to the theater, which he unlocked himself. 

" 'Tad,' said he, half apologetically, 'is a peculiar child. He was violently 
e.xcited when I went to him. I said, "Tad, do you know that you are making 
your father a great deal of trouble?" He burst into tears, instantly giving me 
up the key.' " 



REMINDED KIM OF "A LITTLE STORY." 

When Lincoln's attention was called to the fact that, at one time in his 
boyhood, he had spelled the name of the Deity with a small "g," he replied : 

"That reminds me of a little story. It came about that a lot of Confed- 
erate mail was captured by the Union forces, and, while it was not exactly the 
proper thing to do, some of our soldiers opened several letters written by 
the Southerners at the front to their people at home. 

"In one of these missives the writer, in a postscript, jotted down this 
assertion : 

" 'We'll lick the Yanks termorrer, if goddlemity (God Almighty) spares 
our lives.' 

"That fellow was in earnest, too, as the letter was written the day before 
the second battle of Manassas." 



"FETCHED SEVERAL SHORT ONES." 

"The first time I ever remember seeing 'Abe' Lincoln," is the testimony 
of one of his neighbors, "was when I was a small boy and had gone with 
my father to attend some kind of an election. One of the neighbors, James 
Larkins, was there. 

"Larkins was a great hand to brag on anything he owned. This time 



YARNS AXD STORIES. 



I -'5 



it was his horse. He stepped up before "Abe," who was in a crowd, and 
commenced talking to him, boasting all the while of his animal. 

" 'I have got the best horse in the country,' he shouted to his young 
listener. 'I ran him nine miles in exactly three minutes, and he never fetched 
a long breath.' 

" 'I presume,' said 'Abe,' rather dryly, 'he fetched a good many short 
ones, though.' " 



LINCOLN LUGS THE OLD MAN. 



On May 3rd, 1862, "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper" printed this 
cartoon, over the title of "Sindbad Lincoln and the Old Man of the Sea, Sec- 
retary of the Xavy Welles." It was intended to demonstrate that the head 

of the Navy Department was incompe- 
tent to manage the affairs of the Navy; 
also that the Navy was not doing as 
good work as it might. 

When this cartoon was published, 
the United States Navy had cleared and 
had under control the Mississippi River 
as far south as Memphis; had block- 
aded all the cotton ports of the South; 
had assisted in the reduction of a num- 
ber of Confederate forts; had aided 
Grant at Fort Donelson and the battle 
of Shiloh; the Monitor had whipped 
the ironclad terror, Merrimac (the Con- 
federates called her the Virginia); Ad- 
miral Farragut's fleet had compelled the 
surrender of the city of New Orleans, 
the great forts which had defended it, 
and the Federal Government obtained 
control of the lower Mississippi. 

"The Old Man of the Sea" was, 
therefore, not a drag or a weight upon 
President Lincoln, and the Navy was 
not so far behind in making a good record as the picture would havethe peo- 




126 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

pie of the world believe. It was not long after the Monitor's victory that the 
United States Navy was the finest that ever plowed the seas. The buildiag 
of the Monitor also revolutionized naval warfare. 



McCIELLAN WAS "INTRENCHING." 

About a week after the Chicago Convention, a gentleman from New 
York called upon the President, in company with the Assistant Secretary 
of War. ^Ir. Dana. 

In the course of conversation, the gentleman said : "What do you think, 
Mr. President, is the reason General McClellan does not reply to the letter 
from the Chicago Convention?" 

"Oh !'' replied Mr. Lincoln, with a characteristic twinkle of the eye, "he 
is intrenching!" 



MAKE SOMETHING OTTT OF IT, ANYWAY. 

From the day of his nomination by the Chicago convention, gifts poured 
in upon Lincoln. Many of these came in the form of wearing apparel. Mr. 
George Lincoln, of Brooklyn, who brought to Springfield, in January, 
1861, a handsome silk hat to the President-elect, the gift of a New York 
hatter, told some friends that in receiving the hat Lincoln laughed heartily 
over the gifts of clothing, and remarked to Mrs. Lincoln: "Well, wife, if 
nothing else comes out of this scrape, we are going to have some new 
clothes, are we not?" 



VICIOUS OXEN HAVE SHORT HORNS. 

In speaking of the many mean and petty acts of certain members of 
Congress, the President, while talking on the subject one day with friends, 
said: 

"I have great sympathy for these men, because of their temper and their 
weakness: but I am thankful that the good Lord has given to the \ icious ox 



<-¥ 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



127 



short horns, for if their physical courage were equal to their vicious disposi- 
tion, some of us in this neck of the woods would get hurt." 



LINCOLN'S NAME FOR "WEEPING WATER." 



"I was speaking one time to Mr. Lin- 
coln.'' said Governor Saunders, of Nebraska, 
"of a little Nebraskan settlement on the 
Weeping Water, a stream in our State." 

" 'Weeping W'ater !' said he. 

"Then with a twinkle in his eye, he con- 
tinued. 

" 'I suppose the Indians out there call 
it Minneboohoo. don't they? They ought 
to. if Laughing Water is Minnehaha in 
their language.' " 




PETER CARTWRIQHT'S DESCRIPTION 
OF LINCOLN. 

Peter Cartwright, the famous and eccen- 
tric old Methodist preacher, who used to I>j^ 
ride a church circuit, as Mr. Lincoln and '^ 
others did the court circuit, did not like 

Lincoln very well, probably because Mr. Lincoln was not a member of his 
flock, and once defeated the preacher for Congress. This was Cartwright's 
description of Lincoln : "This Lincoln is a man six feet four inches tall, but 
so angular that if you should drop a plummet from the center of his head 
it would cut him three times before it touched his feet." 



NO DEATHS IN HIS HOUSE. 

A gentleman was relating to the President how a friend of his had been 
driven away from New Orleans as a Unionist, and how, on his expulsion, 
when he asked to see the writ by which he was expelled, the deputation which 



128 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

called on him told him the Government would do nothing illegal, and so 
they had issued no illegal writs, and simply meant to make him go of his own 
free will. 

"Well," said Mr. Lincoln, "that reminds me of a hotel-keeper down at 
St. Louis, who boasted that he never had a death in liis hotel, for whenever a 
guest was dying in his house he carried him out to die in the gutter," 



PAINTED HIS PRINCIPLES. 

The day following the adjournment of the Baltimore Convention, at 
which President Lincoln was renominated, various political organizations 
called to pay their respects to the President. While the Philadelphia dele- 
gation was being presented, the chairman of that body, in introducing one 
of the members, said : 

"Mr. President, this is Mr. S., of the second district of our State, — a 
most active and earnest friend of yours and the cause. He has, among other 
things, been good enough to paint, and present to our league rooms, a most 
beautiful portrait of yourself." 

President Lincoln took the gentleman's hand in his, and shaking it 
cordially said, with a merry voice, "I presume, sir, in painting your beautiful 
portrait, you took your idea of me from my principles and not from my 
person." 



DIGNIFYING THE STATUTE. 

Lincoln was married — he balked at the first date set for the ceremony 
and did not show up at all — November 4, 1842, under most happy auspices. 
The officiating clergyman, the Rev. ]\Ir. Dresser, used the Episcopal church 
service for marriage. Lincoln placed the ring upon the bride's finger, and 
said, "With this ring I now thee wed, and with all my worldly goods I thee 
endow." 

Judge Thomas C. Browne, who was present, exclaimed, "Good gracious, 
Lincoln ! the statute fixes all that !" 

"Oh, well," drawled Lincoln, "I just thought I'd add a little dignity to 
the statute." 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



1 20 



LINCOLN CAMPAIGN MOTTOES. 




The joint debates be- 
tween Lincoln and Douglas 
were attended by crowds of 
people, and the arrival of 
both at the places of speak- 
ing were in the nature of a 
triumphal procession. In 
these processions there 
were many banners bearing 
catch-phrases and mottoes 
expressing the sentiment of 
the people on the candi- 
dates and the issues. 

The following were 
some of the mottoes on the 
Lincoln banners : 

Westward the star of em- 
pire takes its way; 

The girls link on to Lin- 
coln, their mothers 
were for Clay. 



Abe, the Giant-Killer. 



Edgar County for the Tall Sucker. 



Free Territories and Free Men, 
Free Pulpits and Free Preachers, 

Free Press and a Free Pen, 

Free Schools and Free Teachers. 



130 "ABE" LINCOLN'S "^ 

GIVING AWAY THE CASE. 

Between the first election and inauguration of Mr. Lincoln the disunion 
sentiment grew rapidly in the South, and President Buchanan's failure to 
stop the open acts of secession grieved Mr. Lincoln sorely. Mr. Lincoln 
had a long talk with his friend, Judge Gillespie, over the state of afifairs. One 
incident of the conversation is thus narrated by the Judge : 

"When I retired, it was the master of the house and chosen ruler of the 
country who saw me to my room. 'Joe,' he said, as he was about to leave 
me, 'I am reminded and I suppose you will never forget that trial down in 
Montgomery county, where the lawyer associated with you gave away the 
whole case in his opening speech. I saw you signaling to him, but you 
couldn't stop him. 

" 'Now, that's just the way with me and Buchanan. He is giving away 
the case, and I have nothing to say, and can't stop him. Good-night.' " 



POSING WITH A BROOMSTICK. 

Mr. Leonard Volk, the artist, relates that, being in Springfield when 
Lincoln's nomination for President was announced, he called upon Mr. 
Lincoln, whom he found looking smiling and happy. "I exclaimed, 'I am 
the first man from Chicago, I believe, who has had the honor of congratu- 
lating you on your nomination for President.' Then those two great hands 
took both of mine with a grasp never to be forgotten, and while shaking, I 
said, 'Now that you will doubtless be the next President of the United 
States, I want to make a statue of you, and shall try my best to do you 
justice.' 

"Said he, 'I don't doubt it, for I have come to the conclusion that you 
are an honest man,' and with that greeting, I thought my hands in a fair 
way of being crushed. 

"On the Sunday following, by agreement, I called to make a cast of Mr. 
Lincoln's hands. I asked him to hold something in his hands, and told him 
a stick would do. Thereupon he went to the woodshed, and I heard the 
saw go, and he soon returned to the dining-room, whittling off the end of 
a piece of broom handle. I remarked to him that he need not whittle off 
the edges. "Oh, well,' said he, 'I thought I would like to have it nice.' " 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



131 



'BOTH LENGTH AND BREADTH." 



During Lincoln's first and only term in 
Congress — he was elected in 1846 — he 
formed quite a cordial friendship with Ste- 
phen A. Douglas, a member of the United 
States Senate from Illinois, and the beaten 
one in the contest as to who should secure 
the hand of Miss Mary Todd. Lincoln was 
the winner; Douglas afterwards beat him 
for the United States Senate, but Lincoln 
went to the White House. 

During all of the time that they were 
rivals in love and in politics they remained 
the best of friends personally. They were 
always glad to see each other, and were 
frequently together. The disparity in their 
size was always the more noticeable upon 
such occasions, and they well deserved 
their nicknames of "Long Abe" and the 
"Little Giant." 

Lincoln was the tallest man in the Na- 
tional House of Representatives, and Doug- 
las the shortest (and perhaps broadest) man 
in the Senate, and when they appeared on 
the streets together much merriment was 
created. 

Lincoln, when joked about the matter, 
replied, in a very serious tone, "Yes, that's 
about the length and breadth of it." 




"ABE" RECITES A SONG. 



Lincoln couldn't sing, and he also lacked the faculty of musical adapta- 
tion. He had a liking for certain ballads and songs, and while he memorized 
and recited their lines, someone else did the singing. Lincoln often recited 



132 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

for the delectation of his friends, t^he following, the authorship of which is 
unknown: 

The first factional fight in old Ireland, they say, 
Was all on account of St. Patrick's birthday; 
It was somewhere about midnight without any doubt, 
And certain it is, it made a great rout. 

On the eighth day of March, as some people say, 
St. Patrick at midnight he first saw the day; 
While others assert 'twas the ninth he was born — 
'Twas all a mistake — between midnight and morn. 

Some blamed the baby, some blamed the clock; 
Some blamed the doctor, some the crowing cock. 
With all these close questions sure no one could know, 
Whether the babe was too fast or the clock was too slow. 

Some fought for the eighth, for the ninth some would die; 
He who wouldn't see right would have a black eye. 
At length these two factions so positive grew, 
They each had a birthday, and Pat he had two. 

Till Father Mulcahay who showed them their sins, 
He said none could have two birthdays but as twins. 
"Now boys, don't be fighting for the eight or the nine; 
Don't quarrel so always, now why not combine." 

Combine eight with nine. It is the mark; 
Let that be the birthday. Amen ! said the clerk. 
So all got blind drunk, which completed their bliss, 
And they've kept up the practice from that day to this. 



"MANAGE TO KEEP HOUSE." 

Senator John Sherman, of Ohio, introduced his brother, William T. 
.Sherman (then a civilian) to President Lincoln in March, 1861. Sherman 
had offered his services, but, as in the case of Grant, they had been refused. 

After the Senator had transacted his business with the President, 
he said : "Mr. President, this is my brother, Colonel Sherman, who is just 
up from Louisiana; he may give you some information you want." 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



133 



To this Lincoln replied, as reported by Senator Sherman himself: "Ah! 
How are they getting along down there?" 

Sherman answered: "They think they are getting along swimmingly; 
they are prepared for war." 

To which Lincoln responded: "Oh, well, I guess we'll manage to keep 
house." 

"Tecump," whose temper was not the mildest, broke out on "Erolher 
John" as soon as they were out of the White House, cursed the politicians 
roundly, and wound up with, "You have got things in a h — ! of a fix, and 
you may get out as best you can." 

Sherman was one of the very few generals who gave Lincoln little or no 
worry. 



GRANT "TUMBLED" RIGHT AWAY. 



general Grant told this story about Lincoln some years after the War: 
"Just after receiving my commission as lieutenant-general the President 
.:allirl me aside to speak to me privately. After a brief reference to the mili- 
tary .-situation, he said he thought he could illustrate what he wanted to say 
by a story. Said he : 

" 'At one time there was a great war among the ani- 
mals, and one side had great difficulty in getting a 
commander who had sufficient confidence in himself. 
Finally they found a monkey by the name of Jocko, who 
said he thought he could command their army if his tail 
could be made a little longer. So they got more tail 
5ind spliced it on to his caudal appendage. 

" 'He looked at it admiringly, and then 
said he thought he ought to have still more 
tail. This was added, and again he called 
for more. The splicing process was repeated 
many times until they had coiled Jocko's 
tail around the room, filling all the space. 
" 'Still he called for more tail, and, there 
being no other place to coil it, they began 
wrapping it around his shoulders. He con- 




134 -ABE'' LINCOLN'S 

. tinued his call for more, and they kept on winding the additional tail 
around him until its weight broke him down.' 

"I saw the point, and, rising from my chair, repHed, 'Mr. President, I 
will not call for any more assistance unless I find it impossible to do with 
what I already have.' " 



"DON'T KILL HIM "WITH YOUR FIST." 

Ward Lamon, Marshal of the District of Columbia during Lincoln's time 
in Washington, was a powerful man; his strength was phenomenal, and a 
blow from his fist was like unto that coming from the business end of a 
sledge. 

Lamon tells this story, the hero of which is not mentioned by name, 
but in all probability his identity can be guessed : 

"On one occasion, when the fears of the loyal element of the city 
(Washington) were excited to fever-heat, a free fight near the old National 
Theatre occurred about eleven o'clock one night. An ofiicer, in passing the 
place, observed vvhat was going on, and seeing the great number of per- 
sons engaged, he felt it to be his duty to command the peace. 

"The imperative tone of his voice stopped the fighting for a moment, but 
the leader, a great bully, roughly pushed back the officer and told him to 
go away or he would v»'hip him. The officer again advanced and said, 'I 
arrest you,' attempting to place his hand on the man's shoulder, when the 
bully struck a fearful blow at the officer's face. 

"This was parried, and instantly followed by a blow from the fist of the 
officer, striking the fellow under the chin and knocking him senseless. 
Blood issued from his mouth, nose and ears. It was believed that the 
man's neck was broken. A surgeon was called, who pronounced the case 
a critical one, and the wounded man was hurried away on a litter to the 
hospital. 

"There the physicians said there was concussion of the brain, and that 
the man would die. All the medical skill that the officer could procure was 
employed in the hope of saving the life of the man. His conscience smote 
him for having, as he believed, taken the life of a fellow-creature, and he was 
inconsolable. 

"Being on terms of intimacy with the President, about two o'clock that 



f - 



# i #f 4- > I :'K 'Hr > i^- ^'1 

' 1 




WILll \\ H '^1 \\ \Kii n ii tlie most jstiiti pc ■litKi in^ -.i it< ^iiu n in u.pi>j- 
mats in the United States, was a New Yorker by birth, and the idol ot the Repubhcans of 
the East. He was Governor of the Empire State, represented it in the United States 
Senate, and alter being defeated for the Presidential nomination in i860 by President Lin- 
coln, entered the Cabinet of the latter as Secretary of State. Secretary Seward had an 
opportunity to display his great abilities in this position, and was of much assistance to 
the martyred President in the maintenance of peaceful relations with foreign powers. He 
was born in 1801, and died in 1872. (l35) 




EDWIN M. STANTON, the Iron Secretary.' as he was known when at the head 
of the War Department in President Lincoln's Cabinet, was. up to the time of his appoint- 
ment as Secretary of War by Mr. Lincoln, a most severe and caustic critic of the latter, his 
language being even abusive and insulting. He was a Democrat, and had been Attorney- 
General in the Cabinet of President Buchanan. Laying aside all personal feeling President 
Lincoln made him Secretary of War. President Johnson removed him but the 
Senate stood by him. In 1869 President Grant appointed him to the Supreme Bench, 
but he died in that year. He was born in Ohio in 1814. (136) 



YARNS 'AND STORIES. 137 

night the officer went to the White House, woke up Mx. Lincoln, and 
requested him to come into his oiifice, where he told him his story. Mr. 
Lincoln listened with great interest until the narrative was completed, and 
then asked a few questions, after which he remarked : 

*' 'I am sorry you had to kill the man, but these are times of war, and a 
great many men deserve killing. This one, according to your story, is one 
of them; so give yourself no uneasiness about the matter. I will stand by 
you.' 

" 'That is not why I came to you. I knew I did my duty, and had no 
tears of your disapproval of what I did,' replied the officer; and then he 
added : 'Why I came to you was, I felt great grief over the unfortunate 
afifair, and I wanted to talk to you about it.' 

"Mr. Lincoln then said, with a smile, placing his hand on the officer's 
shoulder: 'You go home now and get some sleep; but let me give you 
this piece of advice — hereafter, when you have occasion to strike a man, 
don't hit him with your fist; strike him with a club, a crowbar, or with 
something that won't kill him.' " 



COULD BE ARBITRARY. 

Lincoln could be arbitrary when occasion required. This is the letter 
he wrote to one of the Department heads : 

"You must make a job of it, and provide a place for the bearer of this, 
Elias Wampole. Make a job of it with the collector and have it done. You 
can do it for me, and you must." 

There was no delay in taking action in this matter. Mr. Wampole, or 
"Eli," as he was thereafter known, "got there." 



A GOTERAI BUSTIFICATION. 

Many amusing stories are told of President Lincoln and his gloves. 
At about the time of his third reception he had on a tight-fitting pair of 
white kids, which he had with difficulty got on. He saw approaching in 
the distance an old Illinois friend named Simpson, whom he welcomed with 
a genuine Sangamon county (Illeenoy) shake, which resulted in bursting 



138 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

his white kid glove, with an audible sound. Then, raising his brawny hand 
up before him, looking at it with an indescribable expression, he said, while 
the whole procession was checked, witnessing this scene: 

"Well, my old friend, this is a general bustification. You and I were 
never intended to wear these things. If they were stronger they might 
do well enough to keep out the cold, but they are a failure to shake hands 
with between old friends like us. Stand aside, Captain, and I'll see you 
shortly." 

Simpson stood aside, and after the unwelcome ceremony was terminated 
he rejoined his old Illinois friend in familiar intercourse. 



MAKING aUARTEEMASTERS. 

H. C. Whitney wrote in 1866: "I was in W'ashington in the Indian 
service for a few days before August, 1861, and I merely said to President 
Lincoln one day: 'Everything is drifting into the war, and I guess you 
will have to put me in the army.' 

"The President looked up from his work and said, good-humoredly : 
'I'm making generals now; in a few days I will be making quartermasters, 
and then I'll fix you.' " 



NO POSTMASTERS IN HIS POCKET. 

In the "Diary of a Public Man" appears this jocose anecdote: 
"Mr. Lincoln walked into the corridor with us; and, as he bade us 
good-by and thanked Blank for what he had told him, he again brightened 
up for a moment and asked him in an abrupt kind of way, laying his hand 
as he spoke with a queer but not uncivil familiarity on his shoulder, 'You 
haven't such a thing as a postmaster in your pocket, have you?" 

Blank stared at him in astonishment, and I thought a little in alarm, 
as if he suspected a sudden attack of insanity; then Mr. Lincoln went on: 
'You see it seems to me kind of unnatural that you shouldn't have at least 
a postmaster in your pocket. Everybody I've seen for days past has had 
foreign ministers and collectors, and all kinds, and I thought you couldn't 
have got in here without having at least a postmaster get into your pocket !' " 



YARNS AXD STORIES. 



139 



HE "SKEWED" THE LINE. 

When a surveyor, Mr. Lincoln first platted the town of Petersburg, 111. 
Some twenty or thirty years afterward the property-owners along- one of 
the outlying streets had trouble in tlxing their boundaries. They consulted 
the official plat and got no relief. A committee was sent to Springfield to 




)1: [jT^ ^' 




y^^T- 



consult the distinguished surveyor, but he failed to 
/ f) ll W recall anything that would give them aid, and could 
V ''^// \\ only refer them to the record. The dispute there- 
fore went into the courts. While the trial was pend- 
ing, an old Irishman named IMcGuire, who had 
worked for some farmer during the summer, re- 
turned to tow-n for the winter. The case being men- 
tioned in his presence, he promptly said: "I can 
tell you all about it. I helped carry the chain wdien 
Abe Lincoln laid out this town. Over there where they are quarreling about 
the lines, when he was locating the street, he straightened up from his instru- 
ment and said : 'If I run that street right through, it will cut three or four feet 

ofif the end of 's house. It's all he's got in the world and he never could 

get another. I reckon it won't hurt anything out here if I skew the line a 
little and miss him.' " 

The line was "skewed," and hence the trouble, and more testimony fur- 
nished as to Lincoln's abounding kindness of heart, that would not willingly 
harm any human being. 



"WHEREAS," HE STOLE NOTHING. 



One of the most celebrated courts-martial during the War was that of 
Franklin W. Smith and his brother, charged with defrauding the govern- 
ment. These men bore a high character for integrity. At this time, how- 



140 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

ever, courts-martial were seldom invoked for any other purpose than to 
convict the accused, and the Smiths shared the usual fate of persons whose 
cases were submitted to such arbitrament. They were kept in prison, their 
papers seized, their business destroyed, and their reputations ruined, all of 
which was followed by a conviction. 

The finding of the court was submitted to the President, who, after a 
careful investigation, disapproved the judgment, and wrote the following 
endorsement upon the papers : 

"Whereas, Franklin W. Smith had transactions with the Navy Depart- 
ment to the amount of a millon and a quarter of dollars; and 

"Whereas, he had a chance to steal at least a quarter of a million and 
was only charged with stealing twenty-two hundred dollars, and the ques- 
tion now is about his stealing one hundred, I don't believe he stole anything 
at all. 

"Therefore, the record and the findings are disapproved, declared null 
and void, and the defendants are fully discharged." 



NOT LIKE THE POPE'S BTTLl. 

President Lincoln, after listening to the arguments and appeals of a com- 
mittee which called upon him at the White House not long before the 
Emancipation Proclamation was issued, said: 

"I do not want to issue a document that the whole world will see must 
necessarily be inoperative, like the Pope's bull against the comet." 



COULD HE TELL? 



A "high" private of the One Hundred and Fortieth Infantry Regiment, 
Pennsylvania Volunteers, wounded at Chancellorsville, was taken to Wash- 
ington. One day, as he was becoming convalescent, a whisper ran down 
the long row of cots that the President was in the building and would soon 
pass by. Instantly every boy in blue who was able arose, stood erect, hands 
to the side, ready to salute his Commander-in-Chief. 

The Pennsylvanian stood six feet seven inches in his stockings. Lincoln 
was six feet four. As the President approached this giant towering above 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



141 



him, he stopped in amazement, and casting his eyes from head to foot and 
from foot to head, as if contemplating the immense distance from one 
extremity to the other, he stood for a moment speechless. 

At length, extending his hand, he exclaimed, "Hello, comrade, do you 
know when your feet get cold?" 



DARNED UNCOMFORTABLE SITTING. 

"Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper" of ISIarch 2d, 1861, two days 
previous to the inauguration of President-elect Lincoln, contained the carica- 
ture reproduced here. It was 
intended to convey the idea 
that the National Administra- 
tion would thereafter depend 
upon the support of bayonets 
to uphold it, and the text un- 
derneath the picture ran as 
follows : 

OLD ABE: "Oh, it's all 
well enough to say that I 
must support the dignity of 
my high office by force— but 
it's darned uncomfortable sit- 
ting, I can tell yer." 

This journal was not en- 
tirely friendly to the new Chief 
Magistrate, but it could not 
see into the future. Man}- of 
the leading publications of the 
East, among them some of 
those which condemned slav- 
ery and were opposed to se- 
cession, did not believe Lincoln was the man for the emergency, but instead 
of doing what they could do to help him along, they attacked him most 
viciously. No man, save Washington, was more brutally lied about th?n 
Lincoln, but he bore all the slurs and thrusts, not to mention the open, cruf^l 
Bintagonism of those who should have been his warmest friends, with a forti- 




142 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

tude and patience few men have ever shown. He was on the right road, and 
awaited the time when his course should receive the approval it merited. 



"WHAT'S-HIS-NAME" GOT THERE. 

General James B. Fry told a good one on Secretary of War Stanton, who 
was worsted in a contention with the President. Several brigadier-generals 
were to be selected, and Lincoln maintained that "something must be done 
in the interest of the Dutch." Many complaints had come from prominent 
men, born in the Fatherland, but who were fighting for the Union. 

"Now, I w'ant Schimmelpfennig given one of those brigadierships." 

Stanton was stubborn and headstrong, as usual, but his manner and tone 
indicated that the President would have his own way in the end. However, 
he was not to be beaten without having made a fight. 

"But, Mr. President," insisted the Iron War Secretary, "it may be that 
this Mr. Schim — what's-his-name — has no recommendations showing his 
fitness. Perhaps he can't speak English." 

"That doesn't matter a bit, Stanton," retorted Lincoln, "he may be deaf 
and dumb for all I know, but whatever language he speaks, if any, we can 
furnish troops who will understand what he says. That name of his will 
make up for any differences in religion, politics or understanding, and I'll 
take the risk of his coming out all right." 

Then, slamming his great hand upon the Secretary's desk, he said, 
"Schim-mcl-fen-nig must be appointed." 

And he was, there and then. 



A REALLY GREAT GENERAL. 

"Do you know General A ?" queried the President one day to a 

friend who had "dropped in" at the White House. 

"Certainly; but yon are not wasting any time thinking about him, are 
you?" was the rejoinder. 

"You wrong him," responded the President, "he is a really great man — - 
a philosopher." 

"How do you make that out? He isn't worth the powder and ball ncces- 



YARNS AND STORIES. 143 

sary to kill him — so I have heard military men say," the friend remarked. 
"He is a mighty thinker," the President returned, "because he has mas- 
tered that ancient and wise admonition, 'Know thyself;' he has formed an 
intimate acquaintance with himself, knows as well for what he is fitted and 
unfitted as any man living. Without doubt he is a remarkable man. This 
War has not produced another like him." 

"How is it you are so highly pleased with General A all at once?" 

"For the reason," replied Mr. Lincoln, with a merry twinkle of the eye, 
"greatly to my relief, and to the interests of the country, he has resigned. 
The country should express its gratitude in some substantial way." 



"SHRUNK UP NOETH." 

There was no member of the Cabinet from the South when Attorney- 
General Bates handed in his resignation, and President Lincoln had a great 
deal of trouble in making a selection. Finally Titian F. Coffey consented to 
fill the vacant place for a time, and did so until the appointment of Mr. 
Speed. 

In conversation with Mr. Coffey the President quaintly remarked : 
"My Cabinet has shrunk up North, and I must find a Southern man. I 
suppose if the twelve Apostles were to be chosen nowadays, the shrieks of 
locality would have to be heeded." 



LINCOLN ADOPTED THE SUGGESTION. 

It is not generally known that President Lincoln adopted a suggestion 
made by Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase in regard to the Eman- 
cipation Proclamation, and incorporated it in that famous document. 

After the President had read it to the members of the Cabinet he asked 
if he had omitted anything which should be added or inserted to strengthen 
it. It will be remembered that the closing paragraph of the Proclamation 
reads in this way : 

"And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice warranted 
by the Constitution, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the 
gracious favor of Almighty God!" 



144 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

President Lincoln's draft of the paper ended with the word "mankind," 
and the words, "and the gracious favor of Almighty God," were those sug- 
gested by Secretary Chase. 



SOMETHING FOR EVEETONE. 

It was the President's overweening desire to accommodate all persons 
who came to him soliciting favors, but the opportunity was never offered 
until an untimely and unthinking disease, which possessed many of the char- 
acteristics of one of the most dreaded maladies, confined him to his bed at 
the White House. 

The rumor spread that the President was afflicted with this disease, while 
the truth was that it was merely a very mild attack of varioloid. The office- 
seekers didn't know the facts, and for once the Executive Mansion was 
clear of them. 

One day, a man from the West, who didn't read the papers, but wanted 
the postoffice in his town, called at the White House. The President, being 
then practically a well man, saw him. The caller was engaged in a voluble 
endeavor to put his capabilities in the most favorable light, when the Presi- 
dent interrupted him with the remark that he would be compelled to make 
the interview short, as his doctor was due. 

"Why, Mr. President, are you sick?'' queried the visitor. 

"Oh, nothing much," replied Mr. Lincoln, "but the physician says he 
fears the worst." 

"What worst, may I ask?" 

"Smallpox," was the answer; "but you needn't be scared. I'm only in 
the first stages now." 

The visitor grabbed his hat, sprang from his chair, and without a word 
bolted for the door. 

"Don't be in a hurry," said the President placidly; "sit down and talk 
awhile." 

"Thank you, sir; I'll call again," shouted the Westerner, as he dis- 
appeared through the opening in the wall. 

"Now, that's the way with people," the President said, when relating the 
story afterward. "When I can't give them what they want, they're dis- 
satisfied, and say harsh things about me; but when I've something to give 
to everybody they scamper off." 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



145 



TOO MANY PIGS FOR THE TEATS. 

An applicant for a sutlership in the army relates this story: "In the 
winter of 1864, after serving three years in the Union Army, and being 
honorably discharged, I made application for the post sutlership at Point 
Lookout. My father being interested, we made application to Mr. Stanton, 
the Secretary of War. We obtained an audience, and were ushered 

into the presence of the 
most pompous man I ever 
met. As I entered he 
waved his hand for me to 
stop at a given distance 
from him. and then put 
these questions, viz. : 

■' 'Did you serve three 
years in the army?" 
'"I did, sir.'' 
" 'Were you honorably 
discharged?' 
" 'I was, sir.' 
" 'Let me see your 
discharge.' 

"I gave it to him. He 
looked it over, then said: 
'Were you ever wounded?" 
1 told him yes, at the battle 
of W^illiamsburg, May 5, 
1861. 

"He then said: "I think 
we can give this position to 
a soldier who has lost an 
arm or leg, he being more 
deserving; and he then said 
Hooked hearty and healthy 
enough to serve three years more. He would not give me a chance to argue 
my case. 

"The audience was at an end. He waved his hand to me. I was then 
dismissed from the august presence of the Honorable Secretary of War. 




14^ "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

"My father was waiting for me in the hallway, who saw by my counte- 
nance that I was not successful. I said to my father : 

" 'Let us go over to Mr. Lincoln; he may give us more satisfaction.' 

"He said it would do me no good, but we went over. Mr. Lincoln's 
reception room was full of ladies and gentlemen when we entered. 

"My turn soon came. Lincoln turned to my father and said : 

" 'Now, gentlemen, be pleased to be as quick as possible with your busi- 
ness, as it is growing late.' 

"My father then stepped up to Lincoln and introduced me to him. Lin-' 
coin then said : 

" 'Take a seat, gentlemen, and state your business as cjuickly as 
possible.' 

"There was but one chair by Lincoln, so he motioned my father to sit, 
while I stood. My father stated the business to him as stated above. He 
then said : 

" 'Have you seen Mr. Stanton?' 

"We told him yes, that he had refused. He (Mr. Lincoln) then said: 

" 'Gentlemen, this is Mr. Stanton's business; I cannot interfere with him; 
he attends to all these matters and I am sorry I cannot help you.' 

"He saw that we were disappointed, and did his best to revive our spirits. 
He succeeded well with my father, who was a Lincoln man, and who was a 
staunch Republican. 

"Mr. Lincoln then said: 

" 'Now, gentlemen, I will tell you what it is; I have thousands of appli- 
cations like this every da}-, but we cannot satisfy all for this reason, that these 
positions are like office seekers — there are too many pigs for the teats.' 

"The ladies who were listening to the conversation placed their handker- 
chiefs to their faces and turned away. But the joke of 'Old Abe' put us all 
in a good humor. We then left the presence of the greatest and most just 
man who ever lived to till the Presidential chair." 



GEEEIEY CARRIES LINCOLN TO THE LUNATIC ASYLUM. 

No sooner was .\braham Lincoln made the candidate for the Presidency 
of the Repulilican Party, in i860, than the opposition began to lampoon and 
caricature him. In the cartoon here reproduced, which is given the title of 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



147 



"The Republican Party Going to the Right House," Lincoln is represented 
as entering the Lunatic Asylum, riding on a rail, carried by Horace Greeley, 
the great Abolitionist; Lincoln, followed by his "fellow-cranks," is assuring 
the latter that the millennium is "going to begin," and that all requests will 
be granted. 

Lincoln's followers are depicted as those men and women composing the 
"free love" element; those who want religion abolished; negroes, who want 



Ll)N^ ASYLUM. (iSaSS 




it understood that the white man has no rights his black brother is bound 
to respect; women suffragists, who demand that men be made subject to 
female authority; tramps, who insist upon free lodging-houses; criminals, 
who demand the right to. steal from all they meet: and toughs, who want the 
police forces abolished, so that "the b'hoys" can "run wid de masheen," and 
have "a muss" whenever they feel like it, without interference by the 
authorities. 



THE LAST TIME HE SAW DOUGLAS. 



Speaking of his last meeting with Judge Douglas, Mr. Lincoln said : 
"One day Douglas came rushing in and said he had just got a telegraph 
clisi)atch from some friends in Illinois urging him to come out and help set 
things right in Egypt, and that he would go, or stay in Washington, just 
where I thought he could do the most good. 



148 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

"I told him to do as he chose, but that probably he could do best in 

Illinois. Upon that he shook hands with me, and hurried away to catch 

the next train. I never saw him again." 



HTJRT HIS LEGS LESS. 

Lincoln was one of the attorneys in a case of considerable importance, 
court being held in a very small and dilapidated schoolhouse out in the 
country; Lincoln was compelled to stoop very much in order to enter the 
door, and the seats were so low that he doubled up his legs like a jack- 
knife. 

Lincoln was obliged -to sit upon a school bench, and just in front of 
him was another, making the distance between him and the seat in front of 
him very narrow and uncomfortable. 

His position was almost unbearable, and in order to carry out his prefer- 
ence which he secured as often as possible, and that was "to sit as near to the 
jury as convenient," he took advantage of his discomfort and finally said 
to the Judge on the "bench" : 

"Your Honor, with your permission, I'll sit up nearer to the gentlemen of 
the jury, for it hurts my legs less to rub my calves against the bench than it 
does to skin my shins." 



A LITTLE SHY ON GRAMMAR. 

When Mr. Lincoln had prepared his brief letter accepting the Presiden- 
tial nomination he took it to Dr. Newton Bateman, the State Superinten- 
dent of Education. 

"Mr. Schoolmaster," he said, "here is my letter of acceptance. I am not 
very strong on grammar and I wish you to see if it is all right. I wouldn't 
like to have any mistakes in it." 

The doctor took the letter and after reading it, said : 

"There is only one change I should suggest, Mr. Lincoln, you have 
written Tt shall be my care to not violate or disregard it in any part,' you 
should have written 'not to violate.' Never spHt an infinitive, is the rule." 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



149 



Mr. Lincoln took the manuscript, regarding it a moment with a puzzled 
air, '"So you think I better put those two little fellows end to end, do you?" 
he said as he made the change. 



HIS FIRST SATIRICAL WRITING. 



Reuben and Charles Grigsby were married in Spencer county, Indiana, 
on the same day to Elizabeth Ray and Matilda Hawkins, respectively. They 
met the next day at the home of Reuben Grigsby, St., and held a double 
infare, to which most of the county was invited, with the exception 
of the Lincolns. This Abraham duly resented, and it resulted in 

his first attempt at satirical 
writing, which he called "The 
Chronicles of Reuben." 

The manuscript was lost, 
' and not recovered until 1865. 
when a house belonging 
to one of the Grigsbys was 
torn down. In the loft a 
boy found a roll of musty old 
papers, and was intently read- 
ing them, when he was asked 
what he was doing. 

'■'Reading a portion of the 
Scriptures that haven't been 
revealed yet," vvas the re- 
sponse. This wa=; Lincoln's 
"Chronicles," which is here- 
with given : 

■•THE CHRONICLES OF 

REUBEN." 

"Now, there was a man 

whose name was Reuben, and 

the same was very great in substance, in horses and cattle and swine, and a 

very great household. 

"It came to pass when the sons of Reuben grew up that they were desir- 




150 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

ous of taking to themselves wives, and, being too well known as to honor in 
their own country, they took a journey into a far country and there procured 
for themselves wives. 

"It came to pass also that when they were about to nic:ke the return 
home they sent a messenger before them to bear the tidings to their parents. 

"These, inquiring of the messenger what time their sons and wives would 
come, made a great feast and called all their kinsmen and neighbors in, and 
made great preparation. 

"When the time drew nigh, they sent out two men to meet the grooms 
and their brides, with a trumpet to welcome them, and to accompany them. 

"When they came near unto the house of Reuben, the father, the mes- 
senger came before them and gave a shout, and the whole multitude ran 
out with shouts of joy and music, playing on all kinds of instruments. 

"Some were playing on harps, some on viols, and some blowing on rams' 
horns. 

"Some also were casting dust and ashes toward Heaven, and chief among 
them all was Josiah, blowing his bugle and making sounds so great the 
neighboring hills and valleys echoed with the resounding acclamation. 

"When they had played and their harps had sounded till the grooms and 
brides approached the gates, Reuben, the father, met them and welcomed 
them to his house. 

"The wedding feast being now ready, they were all invited to sit down 
and eat, placing the bridegrooms and their brides at each end of the table. 

"Waiters were then appointed to serve and wait on the guests. When all 
had eaten and were full and merry, they went out again and played and sung 
till night. 

"And when they had made an end of feasting and rejoicing the multitude 
dispersed, each going to his own home. 

"The family then took seats with their waiters to converse while prep- 
arations were being made in two upper chambers for the brides and grooms. 

"This being done, the waiters took the two brides upstairs, placing one 
in a room at the right hand of the stairs and the other on the left. 

"The waiters came down, and Nancy, the mother, then gave directions 
to the waiters of the bridegrooms, and they took them upstairs, but placed 
them in the wrong rooms. 

"The waiters then all came downstairs. 

"But the mother, being fearful of a mistake, made inquiry of the waiters, 
and learning the true facts, took the light and sprangjUpstairs. 



YARNS AND STORIES. 151 

"It came to pass she ran to one of the rooms and exclaimed, 'O Lord, 
Reuben, you are with tlie wrong wife.' 

"The young men, both alarmed at this, ran out with such violence against 
each other, they came near knocking each other down. 

"The tumult gave evidence to those below that the mistake was certain. 

"At last they all came down and had a long conversation about who 
made the mistake, but it could not be decided. 

"So ended the chapter." 

The original manuscript of "The Chronicles of Reuben" was last in the 
possession of Redmond Grigsby, of Rockport, Indiana. A newspaper which 
had obtained a copy of the "Chronicles," sent a reporter to interview Eliza- 
beth Grigsby, or Aunt Betsy, as she was called, and asked her about the 
famous manuscript and the mistake made at the double wedding. 

"Yes, they did have a joke on us," said Aunt Betsy. "They said my man 
got into the wrong room and Charles got into my room. But it wasn't so. 
Lincoln just wrote that for mischief. Abe and my man often laughed about 
that." 



LIKELY TO DO IT. 



An ofificer, having had some trouble with General Sherman, being very 
angry, presented himself before Mr. Lincoln, who was visiting the camp, 
and said, "Mr. President, I have a cause of grievance. This morning I went 
to General Sherman and he threatened to shoot me." 

"Threatened to shoot you?" asked Mr. Lincoln. "Well, (in a stage 
whisper) if I were you I would keep away from him ; if he threatens to shoot, 
I would not trust him, for I believe he would do it." 



"THE ENEMY ARE 'OTJRN.' " 

Early in the Presidential campaign of 1864, President Lincoln said one 
night to a late caller at the White House : 

"We have met the enemy and they are 'oum !' I think the cabal of 
obstructionists 'am busted.' I feel certain that, if I live, I am going to be 
re-elected. Whether I deserve to be or not, it is not for me to say; but on 



152 ■■ABE" LINCOLN'S 

the score even of remunerative chances for speculative service, I now am 
inspired witli the hope that our disturbed country further requires the vaki- 
able services of your huinble servant. 'Jordan has been a hard road to 
travel,' but I feel now that, notwithstanding the enemies I have made and 
the faults I have committed, I'll be dumped on the right side of that 
stream. 

"I hope, however, that I may never have another four years of such 
anxiety, tribulation and abuse. My only ambition is and has been to put 
down the rebellion and restore peace, after which I want to resign my office, 
go abroad, take some rest, study foreign governments, see something of 
foreign life, and in my old age die in peace with all of the good of God's 
creatures." 



"AND— HERE I AM!" 



An old acquaintance of the President visited him in Washington. Lin- 
coln desired to give him a place. Thus encouraged, the visitor, who was 
an honest man, but wholly inexperienced in public affairs or business, asked 
for a high office. Superintendent of the Mint. 

The President was aghast, and said : "Good gracious ! Why didn't he ask 
to be Secretary of the Treasury, and have done with it?" 

Afterward, he said : "Well, now, I never thought Mr. had anything 

more than average ability, when we were young men together. But, then, 
I suppose he thought the same thing about me, and — here I am !" 



SAFE AS LONG AS THEY WERE OOOD. 

At the celebrated Peace Conference, whereat there was much "pow- 
wow" and no result, President Lincoln, in response to certain remarks by 
the Confederate commissioners, commented with some severity upon the 
conduct of the Confederate leaders, saying they had plainly forfeited all 
right to immunity from punishment for their treason. 

Being positive and unequivocal in stating his views concerning individual 
treason, his words were of ominous import. There was a pause, during 




SIMON CAMERON was the first Secruiary ul War in the Cabinet ol President 
Lincoln, but resigned in 1862 because ot friction among the President's official advisers, 
being succeeded as the head of the War Department by Edwin M. Stanton. Secretary 
Cameron was not altogether in accord with the President, either, and this was another 
cause of his leaving the Cabinet. He represented the United States as Minister at the 
Court of St. Petersburg, Russia, and was a member of the United States Senate from 
Pennsylvania several years, his son succeeding him in the Upper House. Mr. Cameron 
was born in Pennsylvania in 1799 and died in i88g. (iS3) 




SALMON PORTLAND CHA^L, Secretary ot the Treaburv m President Lincoln's 
Cabinet until raised to the Chief Justiceship of the United States Supreme Court, is 
known as "the father of the greenback." Secretary Chase was not a close friend of the 
President, but, being one of his official advisers, was one of his intimates. It was at 
Secretary Chase's suggestion that President Lincoln added to the last paragraph of the 
Emancipation Proclamation the seven words, "and the gracious favor of Almighty God.'' 
Chief Justice Chase was born in Ohio in i8c8 and died in 1873. (iS4) 



YARNS AND STORIES. 155 

which Commissioner Hunter regarded the speaker with a steady, searching 
look. At length, carefully measuring his words, Mr. Hunter said : 

"Then, Mr. President, if we understand you correctly, you think that 
we of the Confederacy have committed treason; are traitors to your Gov- 
ernment; have forfeited our rights, and are proper subjects for the hangman. 
Is not that about what your words imply?" 

"Yes," replied President Lincoln, "you have stated the proposition bet- 
ter than I did. That is about the size of it!" 

Another pause, and a painful one succeeded, and then Hunter, with a 
pleasant smile remarked ; 

"Well, Mr. Lincoln, we have about concliided that we shall not be 
hanged as long as you are President — if we behave ourselves." 

And Hunter meant what he said. 



"SMEIT NO ROYALTY IN OITR CARRIAGE." 

On one occasion, in going to meet an appointment in the southern part 
of the Sucker State — that section of lUinois called Egypt — Lincoln, with 
other friends, was traveling in the "caboose" of a freight train, when the 
freight was switched off the main track to allow a special train to pass. 

Lincoln's more aristocratic rival (Stephen A. Douglas) was being con- 
veyed to the same town in this special. The passing train was decorated 
with banners and flags, and carried a band of music, which was playing 
"Hail to the Chief." 

As the train whistled past, Lincoln broke out in a fit of laughter, and 
said : "Boys, the gentleman in that car evidently smelt no royalty in our 
carriage." 



HELL A MILE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE. 

Ward Lamon told this story of President Lincoln, whom he found one 
day in a particularly gloomy frame of mind. Lamon said : 

"The President remarked, as T came in, 'I fear I have made Senator 
Wade, of Ohio, my enemy for life.' 

" 'How?' I asked. 

" 'Well,' continued the President, 'Wade was here just now urging me 



156 "ABE"' LINCOLN'S 

to dismiss Grant, and, in response to something he said, I remarked, "Sena- 
tor, that reminds me of a story." ' 

■' 'What did W'ade say?' I inquired of the President. 

" 'He said, in a petulant way,' the President responded, ' "It is with you, 
sir, all story, story ! You are the father of every military blunder that has 
been made during the war. You are on your road to hell, sir, with this 
government, by your obstinacy, and you are not a mile off this minute." ' 

" '\Vhat did you say then?' 

" 'I good-naturedly said to him,' the President replied, ' "Senator, that 
is just about from here to the Capitol, is it not?" He was very angry, 
grabbed up his hat and cane, and went away.' " 



HIS "GLASS HACK." 



President Lincoln had not been in the White House very long before 
Mrs. Lincoln became seized with the idea that a fine new barouche was 
about the proper thing for "the first lady in the land." The President did 
not care particularly about it one way or the other, and told his wife to 
order whatever she wanted. 

Lincoln forgot all about the new vehicle, and was overcome with aston- 
ishment one afternoon when, having acceded to Mrs. Lincoln's desire to 
go driving, he found a beautiful barouche standing in front of the door of 
the White House. 

His wife watched him with an amused smile, but the only remark he 
made was, "Well, Mary, that's about the slickest 'glass hack' in town, 
isn't it?" 



LEAVE HIM KICKING. 

Lincoln, in the days of his youth, was often unfaithful to his Quaker 
traditions. On the day of election in 1840, word came to him that one 
Radford, a Democratic contractor, had taken possession of one of the polling 
places with his workmen, and was preventing the Whigs from voting. Lin- 
coln started off at a gait which showed his interest in the matter in hand. 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



157 



He went up to Radford and ijeisuaded him to leave the polls, remarking 
at the same time: "Radford, _vou'll spoil and blow, if you live much longer." 
Radford's prudence prevented an actual collision, whicli, it is said, Lin- 
coln regretted. He told his friend Speed he wanted Radford to show fight 
so that he might "knock him down and leave him kicking." 



'WHO COMMENCED THIS FUSS?" 



President Lincoln was at all times an advocate of peace, provided it could 
be obtained honorably and v.ith credit to the United States. As to the 
cause of the Civil War, which side of Mason and Dixon's line was responsible 
for it, who fired the first shots, who were the aggressors, etc., Lincoln did 
not seem to bother about; he wanted to preserve the Union, above all things. 
Slavery, he was assured, was dead, but he thought the former slaveholders 
should be recompensed. 

To illustrate his feelings in the matter he told this story : 

"Some of the supporters of the Union cause are 
opposed to accommodate or yield to the South in any 
manner or way because the Confederates began the 

war; were determined to take 
'■»'' their States out of the L'nion, 
and, consequently, should be 
held responsible to the last 
stage for whatever may come 
in the future. Now this re- 
minds me of a good story I 
heard once, v. hen I lived in 
Illinois. 

"A vicious bull in a pas- 
ture took after everybody 
who .tried to cross the lot, and one day a neighbor of the owner was the 
victim. This man was a speedy fellow and got to a friendly tree ahead of the 
bull, but not in time to climb the tree. So he led the enraged animal a merrv 
race around the tree, finally succeeding in seizing the bull by the tail. 

"The bull, being at a disadvantage, not able to either catch the man or 
release his tail, was mad enough to eat nails; he dug up the earth with his 
feet, scattered gravel all around, bellowed until you could hear him for two 




158 "ABE- LINCOLN'S 

miles or more, and at length broke into a dead run, the inan hangftig onto 
his tail all the time. 

"While the bull, much out of temper, was legging it to the best of his 
ability, his tormentor, still clinging to the tail, asked, 'Darn you, who com- 
menced this fuss?' 

"It's our duty to settle this fuss at the earliest possible moment, no 
matter who commenced it. That's my idea of it." 



"ABE'S" LITTLE JOKE. 

When General W. T. Sherman, November 12th, 1864, severed all com- 
munication with the North and started for Savannah with his magnificent 
army of sixty thousand men, there was much anxiety for a month as to 
his whereabouts. President Lincoln, in response to an inquiry, said: "I 
know what hole Sherman went in at, but I don't know what hole he'll come 
out at." 

Colonel McClure had been in consultation with the President one day, 
about two weeks after Sherman's disappearance, and in this connection 
related this incident : 

"I was leaving the room, and just as I reached the door the President 
turned around, and, with a merry twinkling of the eye, inquired, 'McClure, 
wouldn't you like to hear something from Sherman?' 

'"The inquiry electrified me at the instant, as it seemed to imply that 
Lincoln had some information on the subject. I immediately answered, 'Yes, 
most of all, I should like to hear from Sherman.' 

"To this President Lincoln answered, with a hearty laugh : 'Well. I'll be 
hanged if I wouldn't myself.' " 



•WHAT SUMNER THOUGHT. 

Although himself a most polished, even a fastidious, gentleman. Senator 
Sumner never allowed Lincoln's homely ways to hide his great qualities. 
He gave him a respect and esteem at the start which others accorded only 
after experience. The Senator was most tactful, too, in his dealings with 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



Mrs. Lincoln, and soon had a tirm footing in the household 
proud of this, perhaps a little boastful, there is no doubt. 

Lincoln himself appreciated this. "Sumner thinks he runs me 
with an amused twinkle, one day. 



159 

That he was 



he said, 



A USELESS DOG. 

When Hood's army had been scattered into fragments, President Lincoln, 
elated by the defeat of what had so long been a menacing force on the borders 
of Tennessee, was reminded by its col- 
lapse of the fate of a savage dog belong- 
ing to one of his neighbors in the fron- 
tier settlements in which he lived in his 
youth. "The dog," he said, "was tlie 
terror of the neighborhood, and its 
owner, a churlish and quarrelsome fel- 
low, took pleasure in the brute's forcible 
attitude. 

"Finally, all other means having 
failed to subdue the creature, a man 
loaded a lump of meat with a charge of 
powder, to which was attached a slow 
fuse; this was dropped where the 
dreaded dog would find it, and the 
animal gulped down the tempting bait. 

"There was a dull rumbling, a muf- 
fled explosion, and fragments of the 

dog were seen tlying in every direction. The grieved owner, picking up the 
shattered remains of his cruel favorite, said : "He was a good dog, but as a 
dog, his days of usefulness are over.' Hood's army was a good army," said 
Lincoln, by way of comment, "and we were all afraid of it. but as an army, its 
usefulness is gone." 




ORIGIN OF THE "INFLUENCE" STORY. 

Judge Baldwin, of California, being in Washington, called one day oti 
General Halleck, then Commander-in-Chief of the Union forces, and, pre- 



l6o "ABE- LINCOLN'S 

suming upon a familiar acquaintance in California a few years since, solicited 
a pass outside of our lines to see a brother in Virginia, not thinking that he 
would meet with a refusal, as both his brother and himself were good Union 
men. 

"We have been deceived too often," said General Halleck, "and I regret 
I can't grant it." 

Judge B. then went to Stanton, and was very briefly disposed of with the 
same result. Finally, he obtained an interview with Mr. Lincoln, and stated 
his case. 

"Have you applied to General Halleck?" inquired the President. 

"Yes, and met with a flat refusal," said Judge B. 

"Then you must see Stanton," continued the President. 

"I have, and with the same result," was the reply. 

"Well, then," said Mr. Lincoln, with a smile, "I can do nothing; for you 
must know that I have very little influence with this Administration, 
although I hope to have more with the next." 



FELT SORRY FOR BOTH. 

Many ladies attended the famous debates between Lincoln and Douglas, 
and they were the most unprejudiced listeners. "I can recall only one fact 
of the debates," says Mrs. William Grotty, of Seneca, Illinois, "that I felt 
so sorry for Lincoln while Douglas was speaking, and then to my surprise 
I felt so sorry for Douglas when Lincoln replied." 

The disinterested to wdiom it was an intellectual game, felt the power 
and charm of both men. 



WHERE DID IT COME FROM? 

"What made the deepest impression upon you?" inquired a friend one 
day, "when you stood in the presence of the Falls of Niagara, the greatest 
of natural wonders?" 

"The thing that struck me most forcibly when I saw the Falls," Lincoln 
responded, with characteristic deliberation, "was, where in the world did all 
that water come from?" 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



I6i 



"LONG ABE" FOUR YEARS LONGER. 



The second election of Abraham Lincoln to the 
Presidency of the United States was the reward of 
his courage and genius bestowed upon him by the 
people of the Union States. General George B. Mc- 
Clellan was his opponent in 1864 upon the platform 
that "the War is a failure," and carried but three 
States — New Jersey, Delaware and Kentucky. The 
States which did not think the War was a failure were 
those in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, all 
the Western commonwealths, West Virginia, Ten- 
nessee, Louisiana, Arkansas and the new State of 
Nevada, admitted into tiie Union on October 31st. 
President Lincoln's popular majority over McClel- 
lan, who never did much toward making the War a 
success, was more than four hundred thousand. 
Underneath the cartoon reproduced here, from 
"Harper's Weekly" of November 26th, 1864, were 
the words, "Long Abraham Lincoln a Little 
Longer." 

But the beloved President's time upon earth was 
not to be much longer, as he was assassinated just 
one mouth and ten days after his second inaugura- 
tion. Indeed, the words, "a little longer," printed 
below the cartoon, were strangely prophetic, al- 
though not intended to be such. 

The people of the United States had learned to 
love "Long Abe," their affection being of a 
purely personal nature, in the main. No other Chief 
Executive was regarded as so sincerely the friend of 
the great mass of the inhabitants of the Republic as 
Lincoln. He was, in truth, one of "the common 
people," having been bom among them, and lived 
as one of them. 

Lincohi's great height made him an easy subject 
for the cartoonist, and they used it in his favor as 
well as against him. 



^"^ 

Bm 



%. 



1 63 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 



"ALL SICKER'N YOUR MAN." 



A Commissioner to the Hawaiian Islands was to be appointed, and eight 
applicants had filed their papers, when a delegation from the South appeared 
at the White House on behalf of a ninth. Not only was their man fit — so the 
delegation urged — but was also in bad health, and a residence in that balmy 
climate would be of great benefit to him. 

The President was rather impatient that day. and before the members 
of the delegation had fairly started in, suddenly closed the interview with 
this remark : 

"Gentlemen, I am sorry to say that there are eight other applicants for 
that place, and they are all 'sicker'n' your man." 



EASIER TO EMPTY THE POTOMAC. 

An ofificer of low volunteer rank persisted in telling and re-telling his 
troubles to the President on a summer afternoon when Lincoln was tired 
and careworn. 

After listening patiently, he finally turned upon the man, and, looking 
wearily out upon the broad Potomac in the distance, said in a peremptory 
tone that ended the interview : 

"Now, my man, go away, go away. I cannot meddle in your case. I 
could as easily bail out the Potomac River with a teaspoon as attend to all 
the details of the army." 



HE WAlfTED A STEADY HAND. 

When the Emancipation Proclamation was taken to Mr. Lincoln by 
Secretary Seward, for the President's signature, Mr. Lincoln took a pen, 
dipped it in the ink, moved his hand to the place for the signature, held it 
a moment, then removed his hand and dropped the pen. After a little hesita- 
tion, he again took up the pen and went through the same movement as 
before. Mr. Lincoln then turned to Mr. Seward and said : 

"I have been shaking hands since nine o'clock this morning, and my 
right arm is almost paralyzed. If my name ever goes into history, it will 



YARNS AND STORISS. 163 

be for this act, and my whole soul is in it. If my hand trembles when 1 sign 
the Proclamation, ail who examine the document hereafter will say, 'He 
hesitated.' " 

He then turned to the table, took up the pen again, and slowly, firmly 
wrote "Abraham Lincoln," with which the whole world is now familiar. 

lie then looked up, smiled, and said. "That will do." 



LINCOLN SAW STANTON ABOUT IT. 

Mr. Lovejoy, heading a committee of Western men, discussed an impor- 
tant scheme with the President, and the gentlemen were then directed to 
explain it to Secretary of War Stanton. 

Upon presenting themselves to the Secretary, and showing the Presi- 
dent's order, the Secretary said : "Did Lincoln give you an order of that 
kind?" 

"He did, sir." 

"Then he is a d — d fool," said the angry Secretary. 

"Do you mean to sav that the President is a d — d fool?" asked Lovejoy, 
in amazement, 

"Yes, sir. if he gave you such an order as that." 

The bewildered Illinoisan betook himself at once to the President and 
related the result of the conference. 

"Did Stanton say I was a d; — d fool?" asked Lincoln at the close of the 
recital. 

"He did, sir, and repeated it." 

After a moment's pause, and looking up, the President said : "If Stanton 
said I was a d — d fool, then I must be one, for he is nearly always right, and 
generally says what he means. I will slip over and see him." 



MRS. LINCOLN'S SURPRISE. 

A good story is told of how Mrs. Lincoln made a little surprise for her 
husband. 

In the early days it was customary for lawyers to go from one county 
to another on horseback, a journey which often required sev.ral weeks. On 



i64 "ABE'' LINCOLN'S 

returning from one of these trips, late one night, Mr. Lincoln dismounted 
from his horse at the famihar corner and then turned to go into the house, 
but stopped; a perfectly unknown structure was before him. Surprised, and 
thinking there must be some mistake, he went across the way and knocked 
at a neighbor's door. The family had retired, and so called out: 

"Who's there?" 

"Abe Lincoln," was the reply. "I am looking for my house. I thought 
it was across the way, but when I went away a few weeks ago there was only a 
one-story house there and now there is a two-story house in its place. I 
think I must be lost." 

The neighbors then explained that Mrs. Lincoln had added another story 
during his absence. And Mr. Lincoln laughed and went to his remodeled 
house. 



MENACE TO THE GOVERNMENT. 

The persistence of office-seekers nearly drove President Lincoln wild. 
They slipped in through the half-opened doors of the Executive Mansion; 
they dogged his steps if he walked; they edged their way through the 
crowds and thrust their papers in his hands when he rode; and, taking it all 
in all, they well-nigh worried hiiu to death. 

He once said that if the Government passed through the Rebellion with- 
out dismemberment there was the strongest danger of its falling a prey to 
the rapacity of the office-seeking class. 

"This human struggle and scramble for office, for a way to live without 
work, will finally test the strength of our institutions," were the words he 
used. 



TROOPS COULDN'T FLY OVER IT. 



On April 20th a delegation from Baltimore appeared at the White 
House and begged the President that troops for Washington be sent around 
and not through Baltimore. 

President Lincoln replied, laughingly: "If I grant this concession, you 
will be back to-morrow asking that no troops be marched 'around' it."' 

The President was right. That afternoon, and again on Sunday and 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



i6. 



Monday, commit.tees sought him, protesting that Maryland soil should not 
be "polluted" by the feet of soldiers marching against the South. 

The President had but one reply: "We must have troops, and as they 
can neither crawl under ^Maryland nor fly over it, they must come across it." 



a 






PAT WAS "FOUNINST THE GOVEKNMENT." 

The Governor-General of Canada, with some of his principal officers, 
visited President Lincoln in the summer of 1864. 

They had been verv troublesome in harboring blockade runners, and they 
were said to have carried on a large trade from their ports with the Confed- 
erates. Lincoln treated his 
guests with great courtes}-. 
After a pleasant interview, the 
Governor, alluding to the 
coming Presidential election, 
said, jokingly, but with a grain 
of sarcasm: "I understand, 
Mr. President, that everybody 
votes in this country. If we 
remain until November, can 
we vote?" 

"You remind me," replied 
the President, "of a countryman of yours, a 
green emigrant from Ireland. Pat arrived 
on election day, and perhaps was as eager as 
your E.xcellency to vote, and to vote early, 
and late and often. 

"So, upon landing at Castle Garden, he 

hastened to the nearest voting place, and, 

as he approached, the judge who received 

the ballots inquired, 'Who do you want to 

vote for? On which side are you?' Poor Pat was embarrassed; he did not 

know who were the candidates. He stopped, scratched his head, then, with 

the readiness of his countrymen, he said : 

" "I am forninst the Government, anyhow. Tell me, if your Honor plases, 
which is the rebellion side, and I'll tell you how I want to vote. In ould Ire- 




i66 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

land, I was always on the rebellion side, and, by Saint Patrick, I'll do that 
same in America." Your Excellency," said Mr. Lincoln, "would, I should 
think, not be at all at a loss on which side to vote !" 



"CAN'T SPARE THIS MAN." 

One night, about eleven o'clock, Colonel A. K. McClure, whose intimacy 
Avith President Lincoln was so great that he could obtain admittance to the 
Executive Mansion at any and all hours, called at the White House to urge 
Mr. Lincoln to remove General Grant from command. 

After listening patiently for a long time, the President, gathering himself 
up in his chair, said, with the utmost earnestness: 

"I can't spare this man; he fights!" 

In relating the particulars of this interview, Colonel McClure said ; 

"That was all he said, but I knew that it was enough, and that Grant was 
safe in Lincoln's hands against his countless hosts of enemies. The only man 
in all the nation who had the power to save Grant was Lincoln, and he had 
decided to do it. He was not influenced by any personal partiality for Grant, 
for they had never met. 

"It was not until after the battle of Shiloh, fought on the 6th and 7th of 
April, 1862, that Lincoln was placed in a position to exercise a controlling 
influence in shaping the destiny of Grant. The first reports from the Shiloh 
battle-field created profound alarm throughout the entire country, and the 
wildest exaggerations were spread in a floodtide of vituperation against 
Grant. 

"The fev.' of to-day who can recall the inflamed condition of public senti- 
ment against Grant caused by the disastrous first day's battle at Shiloh 
will remember that he was denounced as .incompetent for his command b_\- 
the public journals of all parties in the North, and with almost entire unanim- 
ity by Senators and Congressmen, regardless of political affinities. 

"I appealed to Lincoln for his own sake to remove Grant at once, and 
in giving my reasons for it I simply voiced the admittedly o\'erwhelming 
protest from the loyal people of the land against Grant's continuance in 
command. 

"I did not forget that Lincoln was the one man who never allowed him- 
self to appear as wantonly defying public sentiment. It seemed to me 
impossible for him to save Grant without taking a crushing load of con- 



YARXS AND STORIES. 



167 



demnation upon himself; but Lincoln was wiser than all those around him, 
and he not only saved Grant, but he saved him b}' such well-concerted effort 
that he soon won popular applause from those who were most violent in 
demanding Grant's dismissal." 



HIS TEETH CHATTERED. 






During the Lincoln-Douglas joint debates of 1858, the latter accused 
Lincoln of having, when in Congress, voted against the appropriation for 
supplies to be sent the United States soldiers in Mexico. In reply, Lincoln 
said : "This is a perversion of the facts. I was opposed to the policy of the 
administration in declar- 
ing war against Mexico; 
but when war was declared 
I never failed to vote for 
the support of any propo- 
sition looking to the com- 
fort of our poor fellows 
who were maintaining the 
dignity of our flag in a war 
that I thought unneces- 
sary and unjust." 

He gradually became 
more and more excited; 
his voice thrilled and his 
whole frame shook. Sit- 
ting on the stand was O. 
B. Ficklin, who had served 
in Congress with Lincoln 
in 1847. Lincoln reached 
back, took Ficklin by the 
coat-collar, back of his 
neck, and in no gentle 
manner lifted him from his 

seat as if he had been a kitten, and roared: "Fellow-citizens, here is Ficklin, 
who was at that time in Congress with me, and he knows it is a lie." 

He shook Ficklin until his teeth chattered. Fearing he would shake 




i68 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

Ficklin's liead off. Ward Lamon grasped Lincoln's hand and broke his 
grip. 

After tlie speaking was over, Ficklin, who had warm personal friendship 
with him, said: "Lincoln, you nearly shook all the Democracy out of me 
to-day." 



"AARON GOT HIS COMMISSION." 

President Lincoln was censured for appointing one that had zealously 
opposed his second term. 

He replied : "Well, I suppose Judge E.. having been disappointed before, 
did behave pretty ugly, but that wouldn't make him any less fit for the 
place; and I think I have Scriptural authority for appointing him. 

"You remember when the Lord was on Mount Sinai getting out a com- 
mission for Aaron, that same Aaron was at the foot of the mountain making 
a false god for the people to worship. Yet Aaron got his commission, you 
now. 



UNCOLN AND THE MINISTERS. 

At the time of Lincoln's nomination, at Chicago, Mr. Newton Bateman, 
Superintendent of Public Listruction for the State of Illinois, occupied a 
room adjoining and opening into the Executive Chamber at Springfield. 
Frequently this door was open during Mr. Lincoln's receptions, and through- 
out the seven months or more of his occupation he saw him nearly every 
day. Often, when Mr. Lincoln was tired, he closed the door against all 
intruders, and called Mr. Bateman into his room for a quiet talk. On one 
of these occasions, Mr. Lincoln took up a book containing canvass of the 
city of Springfield, in which he lived, showing the candidate for whom each 
citizen had declared it his intention to vote in the approaching election. Mr. 
Lincoln's friends had, doubtless at his own request, placed the result of 
the canvass in his hands. This was towards the close of October, and only a 
few days before election. Calling Mr. Bateman to a seat by his side, having 
previously locked all the doors, he said : 

"Let us look over this book; I wish particularly to see how the ministers 
of Springfield are going to vote." 

The leaves were turned, one by one, and as the names were examined 



VARXS AXD STORIES. 169 

Mr. Lincoln frequently asked if this one and that one was not a minister, 
or an elder, or a member of such and such a church, and sadly expressed his 
surprise on receiving an aflfirmative answer. In tliat manner he went through 
the book, and then he closed it, and sat silently for some minutes regarding 
a memorandum in pencil which lay before him. At length he turned to ^Ir. 
Bateman, with a face full of sadness, and said : 

"Here are twenty-three ministers of ditiferent denominations, and all of 
them are against me but three, and here are a great many prominent mem- 
bers of churches, a very large majority are against me. Mr. Bateman, I am 
not a Christian — God knows I would be one — but I have carefully read the 
Bible, and I do not so understand this book," and he drew forth a pocket 
New Testament. 

"These men well know," he continued, "that I am for freedom in tne 
Territories, freedom everyiwhere, as free as the Constitution and the laws 
will permit, and that my opponents are for slavery. They know this, and 
yet, with this book in their hands, in the light of which human bondage 
cannot live a moment, they are going to vote against me: I do not under- 
stand it at all." 

Here Mr. Lincoln paused — paused for long mmutes. his features sur- 
charged with emotion. Then he rose and walked up and down the recep- 
tion-room in the effort to retain or regain his self-possession. Stopping at 
last, he said, with a trembling voice and cheeks wet with tears: 

"I know there is a God, and that He hates injustice and slaverv. I see 
the storm coming, and I know that His hand is in it. If He has a place and 
work for me, and I think He has, I believe I am ready. I am nothing, but 
Truth is everything. I know I am right, because I know that liberty is right, 
for Christ teaches it, and Christ is God. I have told them that a house 
divided against itself cannot stand; and Christ and Reason say the same, and 
they will find it so. 

"Douglas. doesn't care whether slavery is voted up or down, but God 
cares, and humanity cares, and I care; and with God's help I shall not fail. 
I may not see the end, but it will come, and I shall be vindicated: and these 
men will find they have not read their Bible right." 

Much of this was uttered as if he were speaking to himself, and with a 
sad, earnest solemnity of manner impossible to be described. After a pause 
he resumed : 

"Doesn't it seem strange that men can ignore the moral aspect of this 
contest? No revelation could make it plainer to me that slavery or the 



170 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

Government must be destroyed. The future would be something awful, as 
I look at it, but for this rock on which I stand" (alluding to the Testament 
which he still held in his hand), "especially with the knowledge of how these 
ministers are going to vote. It seems as if God had borne with this thing 
(slavery) until the teachers of religion have come to defend it from the 
Bible, and to claim for it a divine character and sanction; and now the cup 
of iniquity is full, and the vials of wrath will be poured out." 

Everything he said was of a peculiarly deep, tender, and religious tone, 
and all was tinged with a touching melancholy. He repeatedly referred to 
his conviction that the day of wrath was at hand, and that he was to be an 
actor in the terrible struggle which would issue in the overthrow of slavery, 
although he might not live to see the end. 

After further reference to a behef in the Divine Providence and the fact 
of God in history, the conversation turned upon prayer. He freely stated 
his belief in the duty, privilege, and efficacy of prayer, and intimated, in no 
unmistakable terms, that he had sought in that way Divine guidance and 
favor. The efifect of this conversation upon the mind of Mr. Bateman, a 
Christian gentleman whom Mr. Lincoln profoundly respected, was to con- 
vince him that Mr. Lincoln had, in a quiet way, found a path to the Christian 
standpoint — that he had found God, and rested on the eternal truth of God. 
As the two men were about to separate, Mr. Bateman remarked : 

"I have not supposed that you were accustomed to think so much upon 
this' class of subjects; certainly your friends generally are ignorant of the 
sentiments you have expressed to me." 

He replied quickly : "I know they are, but I think more on these sub- 
jects than upon all others, and I have done so for years; and I am willing 
you should know it." 



HARDTACK BETTER THAN GENERALS. 

Secretary of War Stanton told the President the following story, which 
greatly amused the latter, as he was especially fond of a joke at the expense 
of some high military or civil dignitary. 

Stanton had little or no sense of humor. 

When Secretary Stanton was making a trip up the Broad River in North 
Carolina, in a tugboat, a Federal picket yelled out, ''What have you got on 
board of that tug?" 







*■ 




l^4> 1 < .|- ^^ 1^^ Jl!?^i"^> ""' 

THL KHJW \N lU-U wa-, tliL AiiiLiR 111 i ulitical Warwick being content to keep 
himself in the background and secure oliice for others, while he "laid the wires" and 
controlled political destinies and policies. He was a Whig and afterward a Republican, 
and was manager of W. H. Seward's campaign when the latter sought the Republican 
Presidential nomination at Chicago in i860. He was one of the most valued advisers 
of President Lincoln, who sent him to Europe during the Civil War to set the cause 
of the Union in its proper light before the governments and peoples of the various 
■nations of that Continent. He was born in New York in 1797, and died in 1884. (171) 




JOHN HAY, who was recalkd as. Ambassador representing the United butes 
at London to become Secretary of State in President McKinley's Cabinet, was one 
of President Lincohi's private secretaries during the time the former was Chief Magistrate 
and, although a very young man, the President had confidence in his judgment and 
integrity. He collaborated with Secretary Nicolay in preparing a life of Lincoln, which 
is regarded as the most authentic of all the biographies of Lincoln published. Mr. 
Hay had access to records other biographers could not reach. He was born in Indiana 
in 1838, most of his life being devoted to literature. (172) 



YARNS AND STORIES. 173 

The severe and dignified answer was, "Tlie Secretary ©f War and Major- 
General Foster." 

Instantly the picket roared back, "We've got Major-Generals enough up 
here. Why don't you bring us up some hardtack?" 



GOT THE PEEACHEE. 

A story told by a Cabinet member tended to show how accurately Lin- 
coln could calculate political results in advance — a faculty which remained 
with him all his life. 

"A friend, who was a Democrat, had come to him early in the canvass 
and told him he wanted to see him elected, but did not like to vote against 
his party; still he would vote for him, if the contest was to be so close 
that every vote was needed. 

"A short time before the election Lincoln said to him : 'I have got the 
preacher, and I don't want your vote.' " 



BIG JOKE ON HAILECK. 

When General Halleck v>as Commander-in-Chief of the Union forces, 
with headquarters at Washington, President Lincoln unconsciously played 
a big practical joke upon that dignified officer. The President had spent 
the night at the Soldiers' Home, and the next morning asked Captain 
Derickson, commanding the company of Pennsylvania soldiers, which was 
the Presidential guard at the White House and the Home — wherever the 
President happened to be — to go to town \\ath him. 

Captain Derickson told the story in a most entertaining way : 

"When we entered the city, Mr. Lincoln said he would call at General 
Halleck's headquarters and get what news had been received from the army 
during the night. I informed him that General Cullum, chief aid to General 
Halleck, was raised in Meadville, and that I knew him when I was a boy. 

"He replied, 'Then we must see both the gentlemen.' When the car- 
riage stopped, he requested me to remain seated, and said he would bring 
the gentlemen down to see me, the office being on the second floor. In a 
short time the President came down, followed by the other gentlemen. When 



174 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

he introduced them to me, General Cullvm: recognized and seemed pleased 
to see me. 

"In General Halleck I thought I discovered a kind of quizzical look, as 
much as to say, 'Isn't this rather a big joke to ask the Commander-in- 
Chief of the army down to the street to be introduced to a country cap- 
tain?'" 



STORIES BETTER THAN DOCTORS. 

A gentleman, visiting a hospital at Washington, heard an occupant of 
one of the beds laughing and talking about the President, who had been 
there a short time before and gladdened the wounded with some of his 
stories. The soldier seemed in such good spirits that the gentleman inquired : 

"You must be very slightly wounded?" 

"Yes," replied the brave fellow, "very slightly — I have only lost one leg, 
and I'd be glad enough to lose the other, if I could hear some more of 'Old 
Abe's' stories."' 



SHORT. BUT EXCITING. 

William B. Wilson, employed in the telegraph office at the War Depart- 
ment, ran over to the White House one day to summon Mr. Lincoln. He 
described the trip back to the War Department in this manner : 

"Calling one of his two younger boys to join him, we then started from 
the White House, between stately trees, along a gravel path which led to the 
rear of the old War Department building. It was a warm day, and Mr. 
Lincoln wore as part of his costume a faded gray linen duster which hung 
loosely around his long gaunt frame; his kindly eye was beaming with good 
nature, and his ever-thoughtful brow was unruffled. 

"We had barely reached the gravel walk before he stooped over, picked 
up a round smooth pebble, and shooting it ofif his thumb, challenged us to 
a game of 'followings,' which we accepted. Each in turn tried to hit the 
outlying stone, which was being constantly projected onward by the Presi- 
dent. The game was short, but exciting; the cheerfulness of childhood, the 
ambition of young manhood, and the gravity of the statesman were all 
injected into it. 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



'/o 



"The game was not won until the steps of the War Department were 
reached. Every inch of progression was toughly contested, and when the 
President was declared victor, it was only by a hand span. He appeared to 
be as nmch pleased as if he had won a battle." 



MR. BULL DIDN'T GET HIS COTTON. 



Because of the blockade, by the Union fleets, of the Southern cotton 
ports, England was deprived of her supply of cotton, and scores of thousands 
of British operatives were thrown out of employment by the closing of the 
cotton mills at Manchester and other cities in Great Britain. England (John 

Bull) felt so badly about this 
that the British Vv-anted to go 
to war on account of it, but 
when the United States eagle 
ruffled up its wings the Eng- 
lish thought over the business 
and concluded not to fight. 

"Harper's Weekly" of 
May 1 6th, 1863, contained 
the cartoon we reproduce, 
which shows John Bull as 
manifesting much anxiety re- 
garding the cotton he had 
bought from the Southern 
planters, but which the latter 
could not deliver. Beneath 
the cartoon is this bit of dia- 
logue between John Bull and 
President Lincoln: :\IR. BULL (conliding creature): "Hi want my cot- 
ton, bought at fi'pence a pound." 

MR. LINXOLN: "Don't know anything about it, my dear sir. Your 
friends, the rebels, are burning all the cotton they can find, and I confiscate 
the rest. Good-morning, John !" 

As President Lincoln has a big fifteen-inch gun at his side, the black 
muzzle of which is pressed tightly against Mr. Bull's waistcoat, the President, 




176 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

to all appearances, has the best of the argument "by a long shot." Anyhow, 
Mr. Bull had nothing more to say, but gave the cotton matter up as a bad 
piece of business, and pocketed the loss. 



STICK TO AMERICAN PRINCIPLES. 

President Lincoln's first conclusion (that Mason and Slidell should be 
released) was the real ground on which the Administration submitted. "We 
must stick to American principles concerning the rights of neutrals." It was 
to many, as Secretary of the Treasury Chase declared it was to him, "gall 
and wormwood." James Russell Lowell's verse expressed best the popular 
feeling: 

We give the critters back, John, 

Cos Abram thought 'twas right; 
It warn't your bullyin' clack, John, 

Provokin' us to fight. 

The decision raised Mr. Lincoln immeasurably in the view of thoughtful 
men, especially in England. 



USED "BUBE TACT." 



General John C. Fremont, with headquarters at St. Louis, astonished the 
country by issuing a proclamation declaring, among other things, that the 
property, real and personal, of all the persons in the State of Missouri wrho 
should take up arms against the United States, or who should be directly 
proved to have taken an active part with its enemies in the field, would be 
confiscated to public use and their slaves, if they had any, declared freemen. 

The President was dismayed: he modified that part of the proclamation 
referring to slaves, and finally replaced Fremont with General Hunter. 

Mrs. Fremont (daughter of Senator T. H. Benton), her husband's real 
chief of staff, flew to Washington and sought Mr. Lincoln. It was mid- 
night, but the President gave her an audience. Without waiting for an 
explanation, she violently charged him with sending an enemy to Missouri 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



177 



to look into Fremont's case, and threatening that if Fremont desired to he 
could set up a government for himself. 

"I had to exercise all the rude tact I have to avoid quarreling with her,'' 
said Mr. Lincoln afterwards. 



"ABE" ON A WOODPILE. 

Lincoln's attempt to make a lawyer of himself under adverse and 
unpromising circumstances — he was a bare-footed farm-hand — excited com- 
ment. And it was not to be wondered. 
One old man, who was yet alive as late 
as 190 1, had often employed Lincoln to 
do farm work for him, and was sur- 
prised to find him one day sitting bare- 
foot on the summit of a woodpile and at- 
tentively reading a book. 

"This being an unusual thing for 
farm-hands in that early day to do," said 
the old man, when relating the story, 
"I asked him what he was reading. 

" 'I'm not reading,' he answered. 
'I'm studying.' 

" 'Studying what?' I inquired. 

" 'Law, sir,' was the emphatic re- 
sponse. 

"It was really too much for me, as I 
looked at him sitting there proud as 
Cicero. 'Great God Almighty!' I ex- 
claimed, and passed on." Lincoln merely laughed and resumed 
"studies." 







his 



TAKING DOWN A DANDY. 



In a political campaign, Lincoln once replied to Colonel Richard Taylor, 
a self-conceited, dandified man, who wore a gold chain and ruffled shirt. 
His party at that time was posing as the hard-working bone and sinew of the 



178 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

land, while the Whigs were stigmatized as aristocrats, ruffled-shirt gentry. 
Taylor making a sweeping gesture, his overcoat became torn open, dis- 
l^laying his finery. Lincoln in reply said, laying his hand on his jeans-clad 
breast : 

"Here is your aristocrat, one of your silk-stocking gentry, at your serv- 
ice." Then, spreading out his hands, bronzed and gaunt with toil : "Here is 
your rag-basin with lily-white hands. Yes, I suppose, according to my friend 
Taylor, I am a bloated aristocrat." 



WHEN OLD ABE GOT MAD. 

Soon after hostilities broke out between the North and South, Congress 
appointed a Committee on the Conduct of the War. This committee beset 
Mr. Lincoln and urged all sorts of measures. Its members were aggressive 
and patriotic, and one thing they determined upon was that the .\rm.y of the 
Potomac should move. But it was not until March that they became con- 
vinced that anything would be done. 

One day early in that month, Senator Chandler, of I\Iichigan. a member 
of the committee, met George W. Julian. He was in high glee. " 'Old' 
Abe is mad," said Julian, "and the War will now go on." 



WANTED TO "BORKOW" THE ARMY. 

During one of the periods when things were at a standstill, the Wash- 
ington authorities, being unable to force General McClellan to assume an 
aggressive attitude. President Lincoln went to the general's headquarters to 
have a talk with him, but for some reason he was unable to get an audience. 

Mr. Lincoln returned to the White House much disturbed at his failure to 
see the commander of the Union forces, and immediately sent for two gen- 
eral officers, to have a consultation. On their arrival, he told them he must 
have some one to talk to about the situation, and as he had failed to see 
General McClellan. he wished their views as to the possibility or probability 
of commencing active operations with the Army of the Potomac. 

"Something's got to be done." said the President, emphatically, "and 
done right away, or the bottom will fall out of the whole thing. Now, if 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



179 



McClellan doesn't want to use the army for awhile, I'd Uke to borrow it from 
him and see if I can't do something or other with it. 

"If McCIclIan can't fish, he ought at least to be cutting bait at a time hke 
this." 



YOUNG "SUCKER" VISITORS. 



..iter Mr. Lincohi's nomination for the Presidency, the Executive 
Cliamber, a large, line room in the State House at Springfield, was set apart 
for him, where he met the public until after his election. 

As illustrative of the nature of many of his calls, the following incident 
was related by Mr. Holland, an eye-witness: "ISIr. Lincoln being in conver- 
sation with a gentleman one day, two raw, plainly-dressed young 'Suckers' 

entered the room, and bashfully lingered 
near the door. As soon as he observed 
them, and saw tiieir embarrassment, he rose 
and walked to them, saying: 'Hoav do you 
do, my good fellows? What can I do for 
you? Will you .'<it down?' The spokesman of 
the pair, the shorter of the tv,o, declined to 
sit, and explained the object of the call thus : 
He had had a talk about tlie relative height 
of Mr. Lincoln and his companion, and had 
asserted his bcHci that they were of exactly 
the same height. He had come in to verify 
his judgment. ]\Ir. Lincoln smiled, went 
and got his cane, and, placing the end of it 
upon the wall, said : 

" 'Here, young man, come under here.' 
"The young man came under the cane 
as Mr. Lincoln held it, and when it was per- 
fectly adjusted to his height, Mr. Liiicoln 
said: 
" 'Now. come out, and hold the cane.' 

"This he did, while Mr. Lincoln stood under. Rubbing his head back 
and forth to see that it worked easily under the measurement, he stepped 
out, and declared to the sagacious fellow who was curiously looking on, that 




i8o "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

he had guessed with remarkable accuracy — that he and the young man w«re 
exactly the same height. Then he shook hands with them and sent them 
on their way. Mr. Lincoln would just as soon have thought of cutting off 
his right hand as he would have thought of turning those boys away with the 
impression that they had in any way insulted his dignity. 



"AND YOU DON'T WEAR HOOPSKIRTS." 

An Ohio Senator had an appointment with President Lincoln at six 
o'clock, and as he entered the vestibule of the White House his attention 
was attracted toward a poorly clad young woman, who was violently sob- 
bing. He asked her the cause of her distress. She said she had been 
ordered away by the servants, after vainly waiting many hours to see the 
President about her only brother, who had been condemned to death. Her 
story was this: 

She and her brother were foreigners, and orphans. They had been in 
this country several years. Her brother enlisted in the army, but, through 
bad influences, was induced to desert. He was captured, tried and sen- 
tenced to be shot — the old story. 

The poor girl had obtained the signatures of some persons who had 
formerly known him, to a petition for a pardon, and alone had come to Wash- 
ington to lay the case before the President. Thronged as the waiting- 
rooms always were, she had passed the long hours of two days trying in 
vain to get an audience, and had at length been ordered away. 

The gentleman's feelings were touched. He said to her that he had come 
to see the President, but did not know as he should succeed. He told her. 
however, to follow him upstairs, and he would see what could be done for 
her. 

Just before reaching the door, Mr. Lincoln came out, and, meeting his 
friend, said good-humoredly, "Are you not ahead of time?" The gentleman 
showed him his watch, with the hand upon the hour of six. 

"Well," returned Mr. Lincoln, "I have been so busy to-day that I have 
not had time to get a lunch. Go in and sit down; I will be back directly." 

The gentleman made the young woman accompany him into the office, 
and when they were seated, said to her: "Now, my good girl. I want you 
to muster all the courage you have in the world. When the President comes 



YARNS AND STORIES. 18 £ 

back, he will sit down in that armchair. I shall get up to speak to him, and 
as I do so you must force yourself between us, and insist upon his examina- 
tion of your papers, telling him it is a case of life and death, and admits of no 
delay." 

These instructions were carried out to the letter. Mr. Lincoln was at 
first somewhat surprised at the apparent forwardness of the young woman, 
but observing her distressed appearance, he ceased conversation with his 
friend, and commenced an examination of the document she had placed in 
his hands. 

Glancing from it to the face of the petitioner, whose tears had broken 
forth afresli, he studied its expression for a moment, and then his eye fell 
upon her scanty but neat dress. Instantly his face lighted up. 

"My poor girl," said he, "you have come here with no Governor, or Sen- 
ator, or member of Congress to plead your cause. You seem honest and 
truthful; and you don't wear hoopskirts — and I will be whipped but I will 
pardon \ our brother." And he did. 



LIEUTENANT TAD LINCOLN'S SENTINELS. 

President Lincoln's favorite son, Tad, having been sportively com- 
missioned a lieutenant in the United States Army by Secretary Stanton, 
procured several muskets and drilled the men-servants of the house in the 
manual of arms without attracting the attention of his father. And one 
night, to his consternation, he put them all on duty, and relieved the reg- 
ular sentries, who, seeing the lad in full uniform, or perhaps appreciating 
the joke, gladly went to their quarters. His brother objected; but Tad 
insisted upon his rights as an officer. The President laughed but declined 
to interfere, but when the lad had lost his little authority in his boyish 
sleep, the Commander-in-Chief of the .^rmy and Navy of the United States 
went down and personally discharged the sentries his son had put on the 

post. 

• 

DOUGLAS HELD LINCOLN'S HAT. 

When Mr. Lincoln delivered his first inaugural he was introduced by his 
friend, United States Senator E. D. Baker, of Oregon. He carried a cane 
and a little roll — the manuscript of his inaugural address. There was a 



i82 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

moment's pause after the introduction, as Ire vainly looked for a spot where 
he might place his high silk hat. 

Stephen A. Douglas, the political antagonist of his whole public life. 
the man who had pressed him hardest in the campaign of i860, was seated 
just behind him. Douglas stepped forward quickly, and took the hat which 
Mr. Lincoln held helplessly in his hand. 

"If I c&n't be President," Douglas whispered smilingly to Mrs. Brown, 
a cousin of Mrs. Lincoln and a member of the President's party, "I at least 
can hold his hat." 



THE DEAD MAN SPOKE. 

Mr. Lincoln once said in a speech : "Fellow-citizens, my friend, Mr. 
Douglas, made the startling announcement to-day that the Whigs are 
all dead. 

, "If that be so, fellow-citizens, you will now experience the novelty of hear- 
ing a speech from a dead man ; and I suppose you might properly say, in the 
language of the old hymn : 

" 'Hark ! from the tombs a doleful sound.' " 



MILITARY SNAILS NOT SPEEDY. 

President Lincoln — as he himself put it in conversation one day with a 
friend — "fairly ached" for his generals to "get down to business." These 
slow generals he termed "snails." 

Grant, Sherman and Sheridan were his favorites, for they were aggres- 
sive. They did not wait for the enem/ to attack. Too many of the others 
were "lingerers," as Lincoln called them. They were magnificent in defense, 
and stubborn and brave, but their names figured too much on the "waiting- 
list." 

The greatest fault Lincoln found with so many of the commanders on the 
Union side was their unwillingness to move until everything was exactly to 
their liking. 

Lincoln could not understand why these leaders of Northern armies 
hesitated, 



YARXS AND STORIES. 



183 



OUTRAN THE JACK-BABBIT. 



^\'hen the Union forces were routed in the first battle of Bull Run. there 
were many civilians present, wlio had gone out from Washington to wit- 
ness the battle. Among the number were several Congressmen. One of 
these was a tall, long-legged fellow, who wore a long-tailed coat and a high 

plug hat. When the retreat began, this 
Congressman was in the lead of the en- 
tire crowd fleeing toward Washington. 
He outran all the rest, and was the first 
man to arrive in the city- No person 
ever made such good' use of long legs 
as this Congressman. His immense 
stride carried him yards at every bound. 
He went over ditches and gullies at a 
single leap, and cleared a six-foot fence 
with a foot to spare. As he went over 
the fence his plug hat blew off, but he 
did not pause. With his long coat-tails 
f ^^=L/''^*\1V ^ \ flying in the wind, he continued straight 

V ^^i^ I PsA"^ — ahead for Washington. 

x. P^^-— ^^J } Many of those behind him were 

" - — scared almost to death, but the flying 

Congressman was such a comical figure 
that they had to laugh in spite of their 
terror. 

^Ir. Lincoln enjoyed the description 
of how this Congressman led the race 
from Bull's Run, and laughed at it 
heartily. 

"I never knew but one fellow who 
coidd run like that," he said, "and he 
was a young man out in Illinois. He 
had been sparking a girl, much against 
the wi.shes of her father. In fact, the old 
man took such a dislike to him that he threatened to shoot him if he e\er 
caught him around his premises again. 

"One evening the young man learned that the girl's father had gone to 




i84 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

the city, and he ventured out to the house. He was sitting in the parlor, 
with his arm around Betsy's waist, when he suddenly spied the old man 
coming around the corner of the house with a shotgun. Leaping through 
a window into the garden, he started down a path at the top of his speed. 
He was a long-legged fellow, and could run like greased lightning. Just then 
a jack-rabbit jumped up in the path in front of him. In about two leaps 
he overtook the rabbit. Giving it a kick that sent it high in the air, he 
exclaimed : 'Git out of the road, gosh dern you, and let somebody run that 
knows how.' 

"I reckon," said Mr. Lincoln, "that the long-legged Congressman, when 
he saw the rebel muskets, must have felt a good deal like that young fellow 
did when he saw the old man's shot-gun." 



•TOOLING" THE PEOPLE. 

Lincoln was a strong believer in the virtue of dealing honestly with the 
people. 

"If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow-citizens," he said to 
a caller at the White House, "you can never regain their respect and esteem. 

"It is true that you may fool all the people some of the time; you can 
even fool some of the people all the time; but you can't fool all of the people 
all the time." 



"ABE. YOU CAN'T PLAY THAT ON ME." 

The night President-elect Lincoln arrived at Washington, one man was 
observed watching Lincoln very closely as he walked out of the railroad 
station. Standing a little to one side, the man looked very sharply at Lin- 
coln, and, as the latter passed, seized hold of his hand, and said in a loud 
tone of voice, "Abe, you can't play that on me!" 

Ward Lamon and the others with Lincoln were instantly alarmed, and 
•would have struck the stranger had not Lincoln hastily said, "Don't strike 
him! It is Washburne. Don't you kncnv him?" 

Mr. Seward had given Congressman Washburne a hint of the time the 
train would arrive, and he had the right to be at the station when the train 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



185 



steamed in, but his indiscreet manner of loudly addressing the President- 
elect might have led to serious consequences to the latter. 



HIS "BROAD" STORIES. 

Mrs. Rose Linder Wilkinson, who often accompanied her father, Judge 
Linder, in the days when he rode circuit with Mr. Lincoln, tells the following 
story : 

"At night, as a rule, the lawyers spent awhile in the parlor, and permit- 
ted the women who happened to be along to sit with them. But after half 
an hour or so we would no- 
tice it was time for us to 
leave them. I remember 
traveling the circuit one sea- 
son when the young wife of 
one of the lawyers was 
with him. The place was 
so crowded that she and I 
were made to sleep to- 
gether. When the time 
came for banishing us from 
the parlor, we went up to 
our room and sat there till 
bed-time, listening to the 
roars that followed each 
other swiftly while those (I 
lawyers down-stairs told sto- 
ries and laughed till the 
rafters rang. 

"In the morning Mr. 
Lincoln said to me: 'Rose, 
did we disturb your sleep 
last night?' I answered, 
'No, I had no sleep' — which 
was not entirely true, but 

the retort amused him. Then the young lawyer's wife complained to Irfn that 
we were not fairly used. We came along with them, young women, and 




-i-v^ 



i86 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

when they were having the best time we were sent away like children to go 
to bed in the dark. 

" 'But, Madame,' said Mr. Lincoln, 'you would not enjoy the things we 
laugh at.' And then he entered into a discussion on what have been termed 
his 'broad' stories. He deplored the fact that men seemed to remember 
them longer and with less effort than any others. 

"My father said: 'But, Lincoln, I don't remember the '"broad" part of 
your stories so much as I do the moral that is in them,' and it was a thing in 
which they were all agreed." 



SORRY FOR THE HORSES. 

When President Lincoln heard of the Confederate raid at Fairfax, in 
which a brigadier-general and a number of valuable horses were captured, 
he gravely observed : 

"Well, I am sorry for the horses." 

"Sorry for the horses, Mr. President !" exclaimed the Secretary of War, 
raising his spectacles and throwing himself back in his chair in astonish- 
ment. 

"Yes," replied Mr. Lincoln, "I can make a brigadier-general in five min- 
utes, but it is not easy to replace a hundred and ten horses." 



MILD REBUKE TO A DOCTOR. 

Dr. Jerome Walker, of Brooklyn, told how Mr. Lincoln once adminis- 
tered to him a mild rebuke. Tlie doctor was showing Mr. Lincoln through 
the hospital at City Point. 

"Finally, after visiting the wards occupied by our invalid and conva- 
lescing soldiers," said Dr. Walker, "we came to three wards occupied by 
sick and wounded Southern prisoners. With a feeling of patriotic duty, I 
said: 'Mr. President, you won't want to go in there; they are only rebels.' 

"I will never forget how he stopped and gently laid his large hand upon 
my shoulder and quietly answered, 'You mean Confederates !' And I have 
meant Confederates ever since. 

"There was nothing left for me to do after the President's remark but 



YARNS AND STORIES. t8; 

to go with him through these tlirce wards; and I could not see but lliat lie 
was just as kind, his hand-shakiiigs just as hearty, his interest just as real 
for the welfare of '':»e men, as when he was among our own soldiers." 



COLD MOLASSES WAS SWIFTER. 

"Old Pap," as the soldiers called General George H. Thomas, was aggra- 
vatingly slow at a time when the President wanted him to "get a move on"; 
irrfact, the gallant "Rock of Chickamauga" was evidently entered in a snail- 
race. 

"Some of my generals are so slow ," regretfully remarked Lincoln one 
day, "that molasses in the coldest days of winter is a race horse compared 
to them. 

"They're brave enough, but somehow or other they get fastened in a 
fence corner, and can't figure their way out." 



LINCOLN CALLS MEDILL A COWARD. 

Joseph Aledill, for many years editor of the Chicago Tribune, not long 
before his death, told the following .story regarding the "talking to" Presi- 
dent Lincoln gave himself and two other Chicago gentlemen who went to 
Washington to see about reducing Chicago's quota of troops after the call 
for extra men was made by the President in 1864: 

"In 1864, when the call for extra troops came, Chicago revolted. She 
had already sent 22,000 troops up to that time, and was drained. When the 
new call came there were no young men to go, and no aliens except what 
were bought. The citizens held a mass meeting and appointed three per- 
sons, of whom I was one, to go to Washington and ask Stanton to give Cook 
county a new enrollment. 

"On reaching Washington, we went to Stanton with our statement. He 
refused entirely to give us the desired aid. Then we went to Lincoln. T 
cannot do it,' he said, 'but I will go with you to the War Department, and 
Stanton and I will hear both sides.' 

"So we all went over to the War Department together. Stanton and 
General Frye were there, and they, of course, contended that the quota 



i88 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

should not be changed. The argument went on for some time, and was 
finally referred to Lincoln, who had been sitting silently listening. 

"I shall never forget how he suddenly lifted his head and turned on us a 
black and frowning face. 

" 'Gentlemen,' he said, in a voice full of bitterness, 'after Boston, Chi- 
cago has been the chief instrument in bringing war on this country. The 
Northwest has opposed the South as New England has opposed the South. 
It is you who are largely responsible for making blood flow as it has. 

" 'You called for war until we had it. You called for Emancipation, and 
I have given it to you. Whatever you have asked, you have had. Now 
you come here begging to be let off from the call for men, which I have 
made to carry out the war which you demanded. You ought to be ashamed 
of yourselves. I have a right to expect better things of you. 

" 'Go home and raise your six thousand extra men. And you, Medill, 
you are acting like a coward. You and your Tribune have had more influ- 
ence than any paper in the Northwest in making this war. You can influence 
great masses, and yet you cry to be spared at a moment when your cause is 
suffering. Go home and send us those men !' 

"I couldn't .say anything. It was the first time I ever was whipped, and 
I didn't have an answer. ,We all got up and went out, and when the door 
closed one of my colleagues said : 

" 'Well, gentlemen, the old man is right. We ought to be ashamed of 
ourselves. Let us never say anything about this, but go home and raise the 
men.' 

"And we did — six thousand men — making twenty-eight thousand in the 
War from a city of one hundred and fifty-six thousand. But there might have 
been crape on every door, almost, in Chicago, for every family had lost a 
son or a husband. I lost two brothers. It was hard for the mothers." 



THEY DIDN'T BUILD IT. 

In 1862 a delegation of New York millionaires waited upon President 
Lincoln to request that he furnish a gunboat for the protection of New York 
harbor. 

Mr. Lincoln, after listening patiently, said: "Gentlemen, the credit of 
the Government is at a very low ebb; greenbacks are not worth more than 
forty or fifty cents on the dollar; it is impossible for me, in the present con- 








JI'.FFEKSUX DA\1S. United States Senator from Mississippi, resigned ulieii his 
Slate seceded from the Union, and on February 4th, 1861, a month before the in- 
auguration of President Lincoln, was elected President of the "Confederate States of 
America." In 1862 he was re-elected for six years, but did not serve his full term, as he 
was captured a month after Lee's surrender, and imprisoned at Fortress Monroe. His case 
never came to trial, he was released, and died in 1889. Kentucky was his native State 
(as it was also Lincoln's), 1808 being the year of his birth. He was one year older than 
President Lincoln. (189) 



; rr--''-^^^ 



# 4^ 'X ^ ''■ ■/' < -j- > t^ ^Ji 




ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS, Vice President ol the Ldiitederate btates^ ot 
America," was one of the ablest sons of the South, and, notwithstanding the fact that he 
followed his native State of Georgia when it seceded from the Union, was in favor of a 
conservative policy. He met President Lincoln at the celebrated conference at Hampton 
Roads and the President, after that, had a high regard for his abilities. He served his 
State in Congress for several years after the War of the Rebellion, and was elected Gov- 
ernor of Georgia in 1882. He was born in 1812 and died m 1883. (190) 



YARNS 'AND STORIES. igr 

dition of things, to furnish you a gunboat, and, in this condition of things, 
if I was worth half as much as you, gentlemen, are represented to be, and 
as badly frightened as you seem to be, I would build a gunboat and give it 
to the Government." 



STANTON'S ABUSE OF LINCOLN. 

President Lincoln's sense of duty to the country, together with his keen 
judgment of men, often led to the appointment of persons unfriendly to him. 
Some of these appointees were, as well, not loyal to the National Govern- 
ment, for that matter. 

Regarding Secretary of War Stanton's attitude toward Lincoln, Colonel 
A. K. AlcClure, who was very close to President Lincoln, said : 

"After Stanton's retirement from the Buchanan Cabinet when Lincoln 
was inaugurated, he maintained the closest confidential relations with 
Buchanan, and wrote him many letters expressing the utmost contempt for 
Lincoln, the Cabinet, the Republican Congress, and the general policy of 
the Administration. 

"These letters speak freely of the 'painful imbecility of Lincoln,' of the 
'venality and corruption' which ran riot in the government, and expressed 
the belief that no better condition of things was possible 'until Jeft' Davis 
turns out the whole concern.' 

"He was firmly impressed for some weeks after the battle of Bull Run 
that the government was utterly overthrown, as he repeatedly refers to the 
coming of Davis into the National Capital. 

"In one letter he says that 'in less than thirty days Davis will be in pos- 
session of Washington;' and it is an open secret that Stanton advised the 
revolutionary overthrow of the Lincoln government, to be replaced by 
General McClellan as military dictator. These letters, bad as they are, are 
not the worst letters written by Stanton to Buchanan. Some of them were 
so violent in their expressions against Lincoln and the administration that 
they have been charitably withheld from the public, but they remain in the 
possession of the surviving relatives of President Buchanan. 

"Of course, Lincoln had no knowledge of the bitterness exhibited by 
Stanton to himself personally and to his administration, but if he had known 
the worst that Stanton ever said or wrote about him, I doubt not that he 
would have called him to the Cabinet in January, 1862. The disasters the 



192 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

army suffered made Lincoln forgetful of everything but the single duty of 
suppressing the rebellion. 

'"Lincoln was not long in discovering that in his new Secretary of War 
he had an invaluable but most troublesome Cabinet officer, but he saw only 
the great and good offices that Stanton was performing for the imperiled 
Republic. 

"Confidence was restored in financial circles by the appointment of Stan- 
ton, and his name as War Minister did more to strengthen the faith of the 
people in the government credit than would have been probable from the 
appointment of any other man of that day. 

"He was a terror to all the hordes of jobbers and speculators and camp- 
followers whose appetites had been whetted by a great war, and he enforced 
the strictest discipline throughout our armies. 

"He was seldom capable of being civil to any officer away from the army 
on leave of absence unless he had been summoned by the government for 
conference or special duty, and he issued the strictest orders from time to 
time to drive the throng of military idlers from the capital and keep them at 
their posts. He was stern to savagery in his enforcement of military law. 
The wearied sentinel who slept at his post found no mercy in the heart of 
Stanton, and many times did Lincoln's humanity overrule his fiery minister. 

"Any neglect of military duty was sure of the swiftest punishment, and 
seldom did he make even just allowance for inevitable military disaster. 
He had profound, unfaltering faith in the LTnion cause, and, above all, he 
had unfaltering faith in himself. 

"He believed that he w-as in all things except in name Commander-in- 
Chief of the armies and the navy of the nation, and it was with unconcealed 
reluctance that he at times deferred to the authority of the President." 



THE NEGRO AND THE CROCODILE. 

In one of his political speeches, Judge Douglas made use of the follow- 
ing figure of speech : "As between the crocodile and the negro, I take the 
side of the negro; but as between the negro and the white man — I would go 
for the white man every time." 

Lincoln, at home, noted that; and afterwards, when he had occasion to 
refer to the remark, he said: "I believe that this is a sort of proposition in 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



193 



proportion, which may be stated thus : 'As the negro is to the white man, 
so is the crocodile to the negro; and as the negro may rightfully treat the 
crocodile as a beast or reptile, so the white man may rightfully treat the negro 
as a beast or reptile.' " 



LINCOLN WAS READY TO FIGHT. 

On one occasion, Colonel Baker was speaking in a court-house, which 
had been a storehouse, and, on making some remarks that were offensive to 
certain political rowdies in the crowd, they cried : "Take him off the stand !" 

Immediate confu- 
sion followed, and 
there was an at- 
tempt to carry the 
demand into execu- 
tion. Directly over 
the speaker's head 
was an old skylight, 
at which it appeared 
Mr. Lincoln had 
been listening to the 
speech. In an in- 
stant, Mr. Lincoln's 
feet came through 
the skylight, fol- 
lowed by his tall and 
sinewy frame, and 
he was standing by 
Colonel Baker's side. 
He raised his hand, 
and the assembly 
subsided into si- 
lence. "Gentlemen," 
said Mr. Lincoln, 
"let us not disgrace 
the age and country 
in which we live. This is a land where freedom of speech is guaranteed. Mr. 
Baker has a right to speak, and ought to be permitted to do so. I am here to 







194 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

protect him, and no man shall take him from this stand if I can prevent it." 
The suddenness of his appearance, his perfect calmness and fairness, and 
the knowledge that he would do what he had promised to do, quieted all 
disturbance, and the speaker concluded his remarks without difficulty. 



IT WAS TIP-HILL WORK. 

Two young men called on the President from Springfield, Illinois. 
Lincoln shook hands with them, and asked about the crops, the weather, etc. 

Finally one of the young men said, "Mother is not well, and she sent me 
up to inquire of you how the suit about the Wells property is getting on." 

Lincoln, in the same even tone with which he had asked the question, 
said : "Give my best wishes and respects to your mother, and tell her I have 
so many outside matters to attend to now that I have put that case, and 
others, in the hands of a lawyer friend of mine, and if you will call on him 
(giving name and address) he will give you the information you want." 

After they had gone, a friend, who was present, said : "Mr. Lincoln, you 
did not seem to know the young men?" 

He laughed and replied : "No, I had never seen them before, and I had 
to beat around the bush until I found who they were. It was up-hill work, 
but I topoed it at last." 



LEE'S SLIM ANIMAL. 

President Lincoln wrote to General Hooker on June 5, 1863, warning 
Hooker not to run any risk of being entangled on the Rappahannock "like 
an ox jumped half over a fence and liable to be torn by dogs, front and rear, 
without a fair chance to give one way or kick the other." On the loth he 
warned Hooker not to go south of the Rappahannock upon Lee's moving 
north of it. "I think Lee's army and not Richmond is your true objective 
power. If he comes toward the upper Potomac, follow on his flank, and on 
the inside track, shortening your lines while he lengthens his. Fight him, 
too, when opportunity oflfers. If he stay where he is, fret him, and fret him." 

On the 14th again he says : "So far as we can make out here, the enemy 
have Milroy surrounded at Winchester, and Tyler at Martinsburg. If they 
could hold out for a few days, could you help them? If the head of Lee's 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



195 



army is at Martinsburg, and the tail of it on the flank road between Freder- 
icksburg and Chancellorsville, the animal must be very slim somewhere; 
could you not break him?" 

"MRS. NORTH AND HER ATTORNEY." 

In the issue of London "Punch" of September 24th, 1864, President Lin- 
coln is pictured as sitting at a table in his law office, while in a chair to his 
right is a client, Mrs. North. The latter is a fine client for any attorney to 




have on his list, being wealthy and liberal, but as the lady is giving her coun- 
sel, who has represented her in a legal way for four years, notice that she 
proposes to put her legal business in the hands cf another lawyer, the 
dejected look upon the face of Attorney Lincoln is easily accounted for. 
"Punch" puts these words in the lady's mouth: 



196 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

MRS. NORTH: '"You see, Mr. Lincoln, we have failed utterly in our 
course of action; I want peace, and so, if you cannot efifect an amicable 
arrangement, I must put the case into other hands." 

In this cartoon, "Punch" merely reflected the idea, or sentiment, cur- 
rent in England in 1864, that the North was much dissatisfied with the War 
policy of President Lincoln, and would surely elect General McClellan to 
succeed the Westernerin the White House. At the election ]\IcClellan car- 
ried but one Northern State — New Jersey, where he was born — President 
Lincoln sweeping the country like a prairie lire. 

"Punch" had evidently been deceived by some bold, bad man. who 
wanted a little spending money, and sold the prediction to the funny journal 
with a certificate of character attached, written by — possibly — a member 
of the Horse Marines. "Punch" was very much disgusted to find that its 
credulity and faith in mankind had been so imposed upon, especially when 
the election returns showed that "the-War-is-a-failure" candidate ran so 
slowly that Lincoln passed him as easily as though the Democratic nominee 
was tied to a post. 



SATISFACTION TO THE SOUL. 

In the far-away days when "Abe" went to school in Indiana, they had 
exercises, exhibitions and speaking-meetings in the schoolhouse or the 
church, and "Abe" was the "star." His father was a Democrat, and at that 
time "Abe" agreed with his parent. He would frequently make political and 
other speeches to the boys and explain tangled questions. 

Booneville was the county seat of Warrick county, situated about fifteen 
miles froin Gentryville. Thither "Abe" walked to be present at the sittings of 
the court, and listened attentively to the trials and the speeches of the law- 
yers. 

One of the trials was that of a murderer. He was defended by ]Mr. John 
Breckinridge, and at the conclusion of his speech "Abe" was so enthusiastic 
that he ventured to compliment him. Breckinridge looked at the shabby 
boy, thanked him, and passed on his way. 

Many years afterwards, in 1862, Breckinridge called on the President, 
and he was told, "It was the best speech that I, up to that time, had ever 
heard. If I could, as I then thought, make as good a speech as that, my 
soul would be satisfied." - 



YARNS "AXD STORIES. 



197 



WITHDREW THE COLT. 

Mr. Alcott, of Elgin, 111., tells of seeing 
Mr. Lincoln coming away from church, 
unusually early one Sunday morning. "The 
sermon could not have been more than half 
way through," says Mr. Alcott. " 'Tad' was 
slung across his left arm like a pair of saddle- 
bags, and Mr. Lincoln was striding along 
with long, deliberate steps toward his home. 
On one of the street corners he encountered 
a group of his fellow-townsmen. }ilr. Lin- 
coln anticipated the cjuestion vvhich was 
about to be put by the group, and, taking his 
figure of speech from practices with which 
they were only too familiar, said : 'Gentle- 
men, I entered this colt, but he kicked 
around so I had to withdraw him.' " 






"TAD" GOT HIS DOLLAR. 

No matter who was with the President, 
or how intently absorbed, his little son "Tad" 
was always welcome. He almost always ac- 
companied his father. 

Once, on the way to Fortress ^Monroe, 
he became very troublesome. The President 
was much engaged in conversation with the 
party v.ho accompanied him, and he at 
length said : 

" 'Tad,' if you will be a good boy, and not 
disturb me any more until we get to Fortress 
Monroe, I will give you a dollar." 

The hope of reward was effectual for 
awhile in securing silence, but, boylike, 
"Tad" soon forgot his promise, and was as '- 
noisy as ever. L'pon reaching their destina- 
tion, however, he said, very promptly: 




198 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

"Father, I want my dollar." Mr. Lincoln looked at him half-reproachfully 
for an instant, and then, taking from his pocketbook a dollar note, he said: 
"Well, my son, at any rate, I will keep my part of the bargain." 



TELIS AN EDITOR ABOUT NASBY. 

Henry J. Raymond, the famous New York editor, thus tells of Mr. Lin- 
coln's fondness for the Nasby letters : 

"It has been well said by a profound critic of Shakespeare, and it occurs to 
me as very appropriate in this connection, that 'the spirit which held the woe 
of Lear and the tragedy of "Hamlet" would have broken had it not also 
had the humor of the "Merry Wives of Windsor" and the merriment of the 
"Midsummer Night's Dream." ' 

"This is as true of Mr. Lincoln as it was of Shakespeare. The capacity 
to tell and enjoy a good anecdote no doubt prolonged his life. 

"The Saturday evening before he left Washington to go to the front, 
just previous to the capture of Richmond, I was with him from seven o'clock 
till nearly twelve. It had been one of his most trying days. The pressure 
of ofifice-seekers was greater at this juncture than I ever knew it to be, and he 
was almost worn out. 

"Among the callers that evening was a party composed of two Senators, 
a Representative, an ex-Lieutenant-Governor of a Western State, and several 
private citizens. They had business of great importance, involving the neces- 
sity of the President's examination of voluminous documents. Pushing 
everything aside, he said to one of the party : 

" 'Have you seen the Nasby papers?' 

" 'No, I have not,' was the reply; 'who is Nasby?' 

" 'There is a chap out in Ohio,' returned the President, 'who has been 
writing a series of letters in the newspapers over the signature of Petroleum 
V. Nasby. Some one sent me a pamphlet collection of them the other day. 
I am going to write to "Petroleum" to come down here, and I intend to 
tell him if he will communicate his talent to me, I will swap places with 
him !' 

"Thereupon he arose, went to a drawer in his desk, and, taking out the 
'Letters,' sat down and read one to the company, finding in their enjoyment 
oi it the temporary excitement and relief which another man would have 



YARNS AND STORIES. 199 

found in a glass of wine. The instant he had ceased, the book was thrown 
aside, his countenance relapsed into its habitual serious expression, and the 
business was entered upon with the utmost earnestness." 



LONG AND SHORT OF IT. 

On the occasion of a serenade, the President w as called for by the crowd 
assembled. He appeared at a window with his wife (who was somewhat 
below the medium height), and made the following "brief remarks" : 

"Here I am, and here is Mrs. Lincoln. That's the long and the short 
of it." 



MORE PEGS THAN HOLES. 

Some gentlemen were once finding fault with the President because cer- 
tain generals were not given conmiands. 

"The fact is." replied President Lincoln, "I have got more pegs than I 
have holes to put them in." 



"WEBSTER COULDN'T HAVE DONE MORE." 

Lincoln "got even" with the Illinois Central Railroad Company, in 1855. 
in a most substantial way, at the same time secured sweet revenge for an 
insult, unwarranted in every way. put upon him by one of the ofificials of that 
corporation. 

Lincoln and Herndon defended the Illinois Central Railroad in an action 
brought by McLean County, Illinois, in August, 1853, to recover taxes 
alleged to be due the county from the road. The Legislature had granted 
the road immunity from taxation, and this was a case intended to test the 
constitutionality of the law. The road sent a retainer fee of $250. 

In the lower court the case was decided in favor of the railroad. An 
appeal to the Supreme Court followed, was argued twice, and finally decided 
in favor of the road. This last decision was rendered some time in 1855. 



20O "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

Lincoln then went to Chicago and presented the bill for legal services. 
Lincoln and Herndon only asked for $2,000 more. 

The official to whom he was referred, after looking at the bill, expressed 
great surprise. 

"Why, sir," he exclaimed, "this is as much as Daniel Webster himself 
would have charged. We cannot allow such a claim." 

"Why not?" asked Lincoln. 

"We could have hired first-class lawyers at that figure," was the response. 

"We won the case, didn't we?" queried Lincoln. 

"Certainly," replied the official. 

"Daniel Webster, then," retorted Lincoln in no amiable tone, "couldn't 
have done more," and "Abe" walked out of the official's office. 

Lincoln withdrew the bill, and started for home. On the way he stopped 
at Bloomington, where he met Grant Goodrich, Archibald Williams, Nor- 
man B. Judd, O. H. Browning, and other attorneys, who, on learning of his 
modest charge for the valuable services rendered the railroad, induced him 
to increase the demand to $5,000, and to bring suit for that sum. 

This was done at once. On the trial six lawyers certified that the bill 
was reasonable, and judgment for that sum went by default; the judg- 
ment was promptly paid, and, of course, his partner, Herndon, got "your 
half Billy," without delay. 



LINCOLN MET CLAY. 



Wlien a member of Congress, Lincoln went to Lexington, Kentucky, 
to hear Henry Clay speak. The W^esterner, a Kentuckian by birth, and 
destined to reach the great goal Clay had so often sought, wanted to meet 
the "Millboy of the Slashes." The address was a tame affair, as was jthe 
personal greeting when Lincoln made himself known. Clay was courteous, 
but cold. He may never have heard of the man, then in his presence, who 
was to secure, without solicitation, the prize which he for many yea>s had 
unsuccessfully sought. Lincoln was disenchanted; his ideal was shattered. 
One reason why Clay had not realized his ambition had become apparent. 

Clay was cool and dignified; Lincoln was cordial and hearty. Clay's 
hand was bloodless and frosty, with no vigorous grip in it; Lincoln's was 
warm, and its clasp was expressive of kindliness and sympathy. 



YARNS 'AND STORIES 



201 



REMINDED "ABE" OF A LITTLE JOKE. 

President Lincoln nad a little joke at the expense of General George B. 
McClellan, the Democratic candidate for the Presidency in opposition to the 
Westerner in 1S64. McClellan was nominated by the Democratic National 
Convention, which assembled at Chicago, but after he had been named, and 

also during the campaign, 
the military candidate was 
characteristically slow in 
coniing to the front. 

President Lincoln had 
his eye upon every move 
made by General McClellan 
during the campaign, and 
when reference was made 
one day, in his presence, to 
the dehberation and caution 
of the New Jerseyite, Mr. 
Lincoln remarked, with a 
twinkle in his eye, "Perhaps 
he is intrenching." 

The cartoon we repro- 
duce appeared in "Harper's 
Weekly," September 17th, 
1864, and shows General McClellan. with his little spade in hand, being sub- 
jected to the scrutiny of the President — the man who gave McClellan, when 
the latter was Commander-in-Chief of the Union forces, every opportunity 
in the world to distinguish himself. There is a smile on the face of "Honest 
Abe." which shows conclusively that lie does not regard his political oppo- 
nent as likely to prove formidable in any way. President Lincoln "sized up" 
McClellan in 1861-2. and knew, to a fraction, how much of a man he was, 
what he could do, and how he went about doing it. McClellan was no politi- 
cian, while the President was the shrewdest of political diplomats. 




HIS DIGNITY SAVED HIM. 

When Washington had become an armed camp, and full of soldiers, 
President Lincoln and his Cabinet ofificers drove daily to one or another of 



202 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

these camps. Very often his outing for the day was attending some cere- 
mony incident to camp life: a military funeral, a camp wedding, a review, 
a flag-raising. He did not often make speeches. "I have made a great 
many poor speeches," he said one day, in excusing himself, "and I now feel 
relieved that my dignity does not permit me to be a public speaker." 



THE MAN HE WAS LOOKING FOE. 

Judge Kelly, of Pennsylvania, who was one of the committee to advise 
Lincoln of his nomination, and who was himself a great many feet high, had 
been eyeing Lincoln's lofty form with a mixture of admiration and possibly 
jealousy. 

This had not escaped Lincoln, and as he shook hands with the judge he 
inquired, "What is your height?" 

"Six feet three. What is yours, Mr. Lincoln?" 

"Six feet four." 

"Then," said the judge, "Pennsylvania bows to Illinois. My dear man, 
for years my heart has been aching for a President that I could look up to, 
and I've at last found him." 



HIS CABINET CHANCES POOE. 

Mr. Jeriah Bonham, in describing a visit he paid Lincoln at his room 
in the State House at Springfield, where he found him quite alone, except 
that two of his children, one of v^-hom was "Tad," were with him. 

The door was open. 

We walked in and were at once recognized and seated — the two boys 
still continuing their play about the room. "Tad" was spinning his top; and 
Lincoln, as we entered, had just finished adjusting the string for him so as to 
give the top the greatest degree of force. He remarked that he was having a 
little fun with the boys. 

At another time, at Lincoln's residence, "Tad" came into the room, and, 
putting his hand to his mouth, and his mouth to his father's ear, said, in a 
boy's whisper: "Ma says come to supper." 

All heard the announcement, and Lincoln, perceiving this, said : "You 
have heard, gentlemen, the announcement concerning the interesting state 



YARNS 'AND STORIES. 203 

of things in the dining-room. It will never do for me, if elected, to make this 
young man a member of my Cabinet, for it is plain he cannot be trusted with 
secrets of state." 



THE GENEKAL WAS "HEADED IN." 

A Union general, operating with his command in West Virginia, allowed 
himself and his men to be trapped, and it was feared his force would be cap- 
tured bv the Confederates. The President heard the report read by the 
operator, as it came over the wire, and remarked: 

"Once there was a man 
out West who was 'heading' 
a barrel, as they used to call 
it. He worked like a good 
fellow in driving down the 
hoops, but just about the 
time he thought he had the 
job done, the head would 
fall in. Then he had to do 
the work all over again. 

"All at once a bright idea 
entered his brain, and he 
wondered how it was he 
hadn't figured it out before. 
His boy, a bright, smart lad, 
was standing by, verjr much in- 
terested in the business, and, 
lifting the young one up, he 
put him inside the barrel, 
telling him to hold the head 
in its proper place, while he 
pounded down the hoops 
on the sides. This worked 
like a charm, and he soon had the 'heading' done. 

"Then he realized that his boy was inside the barrel, and how to get him 
out he couldn't for his life figure out. General Blank is now inside the barrel, 
'headed in,' and the job now is to get him out." 




20-t- "ABE" LINCOLN'S 



SUGAR-COATED. 



Government Printer Defrees, when one of the President's messages was 
bemg printed, was a good deal disturbed by the use of the term "sugar- 
coated," and finally went to Mr. Lincoln about it. 

Their relations to each other being of the most intimate character, he 
told the President frankly that he ought to remember that a message to Con- 
gress was a different affair from a speech at a mass meeting in Illinois; that 
the messages became a part of history, and should be written accordingly. 

"What is the matter now?" inquired the President. 

"Why," said Defrees, "you have used an undignified expression in the 
message"; and, reading the paragraph aloud, he added, "I would alter the 
structure of that, if I were you." 

"Defrees," replied the President, "that word expresses exactly my idea, 
and I am not going to change it. The time will never come in this country 
when people won't know exactly what 'sugar-coated' means." 



COULD MAKE "RABBIT-TRACKS." 

When a grocery clerk at New Salem, the annual election came around. 
A Mr. Graham was clerk, but his assistant was absent, and it was necessary 
to find a man to fill his place. Lincoln, a "tall young man," had already con- 
centrated on himself the attention of the people of the town, and Graham 
easily discovered him. Asking him if he could write, "Abe" modestly repHed, 
"I can make a few rabbit-tracks." His rabbit-tracks proving to be legible 
and even graceful, he was employed. 

The voters soon discovered that the new assistant clerk was honest and 
fair, and performed his duties satisfactorily, and when, the work done, he 
began to "entertain them with stories," they found that their town had made 
a valuable personal and social acquisition. 



I 



LINCOLN PROTECTED CURRENCY ISSUES. 

Marshal Ward Lamon was in President Lincoln's office in the White 
House one day, and casually asked the President if he knew how the cur- 
rency of the country was made. Greenbacks were then under full headway of 



i 
i 



YARNS 'AMD STORIES. 2o$ 

circulation, these bits of paper lieing the representatives ot United States 
money. 

"Our currency," was the President's answer, "is made, as the lawyers 
would put it, in their legal way, in the following manner, to-wit : The official 
engraver strikes off the sheets, passes them over to the Register of the 
Currency, who, after placing his earmarks upon them, signs the same; the 
Register turns them over to old Father Spinner, who proceeds to embellish 
them with his wonderful signature at the bottom; Father Spinner sends 
them to Secretary of the Treasury Chase, and he, as a final act in the matter, 
issues them to the public as money — and may the good Lord help any fel- 
low that doesn't take all he can honestly get of them !" 

Taking from his pocket a $5 greenback, with a twinkle in his eye, the 
President then said: "Look at Spinner's signature! Was there ever any- 
thing like it on earth? Yet it is unmistakable; ro one will ever be able to 
counterfeit it !" 

Lamon then goes on to say : 

" 'But,' I said, 'you certainly don't suppose that Spinner actually wrote 
his name on that bill, do you?' 

■■ 'Certainly, I do; why not?' queried Mr. Lincoln. 

"I then asked, 'How much of this currency have we afloat?' 

"He remained thoughtful for a moment, and then stated the amount. 

"I continued: 'How many times do you think a man can write a signa- 
ture like Spinner's in the course of twenty-four hours?' 

'"The beam of hilarity left the countenance of the President at once. 
He put the greenback into his vest pocket, and walked the floor; after 
awhile he stopped, heaved a long breath and said : 'This thing frightens me !' 
He then rang for a messenger and told him to ask the Secretary of the 
Treasury to please come over to see him. 

'■?vlr. Chase soon put in an appearance; President Lincoln stated the cause 
of his alarm, and asked Mr. Chase to explain in detail the operations, meth- 
ods, S3-stem of checks, etc., in his ofifice, and a lengthy discussion followed, 
President Lincoln contending there were not sufficient safeguards afforded 
in any degree in the money-making department, and Secretary Chase insist- 
ing that every protection was afforded he could de^-ise." 

Afterward the President called the attention of Congress to this impor- 
tant question, and devices were adopted whereby a check was put upon the 
issue of greenbacks that no spurious ones ever came out of the Treasury 
Department, at least. Counterfeiters were busy, though, but this was not the 
fault of the Treasury. 



2o6 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 



LINCOLN'S APOLOGY TO GRANT. 

"General Grant is a copious worker and fighter," President Lincoln wrote 
to General Burnside in July, 1863, "but a meagre writer or telegrapher." 

Grant never wrote a report until the battle was over. 

President Lincoln wrote a letter to General Grant on July 13th, 1863, 
which indicated the strength of the hold the successful fighter had upon the 
man in the White House. 

It ran as follows : 

"I do not remember that you and I ever met personally. 

"I write this now as a grateful acknowledgment for the almost ines- 
timable service you have done the country. 

"I write to say a word further. 

"When you first reached the vicinity of Vicksburg, I thought you should 
do what you finally did — march the troops across the neck, run the bat- 
teries with the transports, and thus go below; and I never had any faith, 
except a general hope, that you knew better than I, that the Yazoo Pass 
expedition, and the like, could succeed. 

"When you got below and took Port Gibson, Grand Gulf and vicinity, I 
thought you should go down the river and join General Banks; and when 
you turned northward, east of Big Black, I feared it was a mistake. 

"I now wish to make the personal acknowledgment that you were right 
and I was wrong." 



LINCOLN SAID "BY JING." 

Lincoln never used profanity, except when he quoted it to illustrate a 
point in a story. His favorite expressions when he spoke with emphasis were 
"By dear!" and "By jing!" 

Just preceding the Civil War he sent Ward Lamon on a ticklish mission 
to South Carolina. 

When the proposed trip was mentioned to Secretary Seward, he opposed 
it, saying, "Mr. President, I fear you are sending Lamon to his grave. I am 
afraid they will kill him in Charleston, where the people are excited and des- 
perate. We can't spare Lamon, and we shall feel badly if anything happens 
to him." 

~ Mr. Lincoln said in reply: "I have known Lamon to be in many a 







I "1 (jRA \ 1 t , luril I li 1 11 immanded 

more men in the field th?n any leader "in the world, had a tirm tnend m President 
Lincoln, who admired hi': genius for fighting. After Shiloh, when an almost universal 
demand arose for Gra-;s dismissal, Lincoln was his only friend. "I can't spare this 
man; he fights!" said Lincoln. The latter never saw Grant until March, 1864, when he 
handed the General his commission as Lieutenant-General commanding the United States 
forces. Lincoln liked Grant's way of winning battles. Grant was born in Ohio in i822„ 
ai.d died in 1885. (207i 







I 



ROBERT E. LEE, who stands among the first of the mighty military commanders 
of genius the United States has yet produced, had a marvel'^usly successful career until, 
first, he was beaten back at Gettysburg, and second, he foui;u himself face to face with 
Grant. He had defeated McClellan in the Peninsula, Burnsid-: at Fredericksburg and 
Hooker at Chancellorsville, but Grant wore his army out in the battles beginning with 
the Wilderness. General Lee was born in Virginia in 1807. was graduated from West 
Point in 1829. and died in 1870. He vas of the same age at his death as General Grant 
when the latter died. (,208) 



YARNS A.\D STORIES. 2u ;. 

close place, and he has never been in one thai he didn't get out of, some 
how. By jing! I'll risk him. Go ahead, Lamon, and God bless you! If 
you can't bring back any good news, bring a palmetto." 

Lamon brought back a palmetto branch, but no promise of peace. 



IT TICKLED THE LITTLE "WOMAN. 

Lincoln had been in the telegraph office at Springfield during the 
casting of the first and second ballots in the Republican National Conven- 
tion at Chicago, and then left and went over to the office of the State Jour- 
nal, where he was sitting conversing with friends while the third ballot was 
being taken. 

In a few moments came across the wires the announcement of the result. 
The superintendent of the telegraph company wrote on a scrap of paper: 
"Mr. Lincoln, you are nominated on the third ballot," and a boy ran with the 
message to Lincoln. 

He looked at it in silence, amid the shouts of those around him; then 
rising and putting it in his pocket, he said quietly: "There's a little woman 
down at our house would like to hear this; I'll go down and tell her." 



"SHALL ALL FALL TOQETHEK." 

After Lincoln had finished that celebrated speech in "Egypt" (as a sec- 
tion of Southern Illinois was formerly designated), in the course of which 
he seized Congressman Ficklin by the coat collar and shook him fiercely, he 
apologized. In return, Ficklin said Lincoln had "nearly shaken the Democ- 
racy out of him." To this Lincoln replied : 

"That reminds me of what Paul said to Agrippa, which, in language and 
substance, was about this: 'I would to God that such Democracy as you 
folks here in Egypt have were not only almost, but altogether, shaken out 
of, not only you, but all that heard me this day, and that you would all join 
in assisting in shaking oft the shackles of the bondmen by -.11 legitimate 
means, so that this country may be made free as the good Lord iu.tnded it.' " 

Said Ficklin in rejoinder: "'Lincoln, I remember of reading somewhere 
in the same book from which you get your Agrippa story, that Paul, whom 



2IO "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

you seem to desire to personate, admonislied all servants (slaves) to be obedi- 
ent to them that are their masters according to the flesli. in fear and trem- 
bling. 

"It would seem that neither our Savior nor Paul saw the iniquity of slav- 
ery as you and your party do. But you must not think that where you fail by 
argument to convince an old friend like myself and win him over to your 
heterodox abolition opinions, you are justified in resorting to violence such 
as you practiced on me to-day. 

"Why, I never had such a shaking up in the whole course of my life. 
Recollect that that good old book that you quote from somewhere says 
in effect this : 'Woe be unto him who goeth to Egypt for help, for he shall 
fall. The holpen shall fall, and they shall all fall together. ' " 



DEAD DOG KO CURE. 

Lmcoln's quarrel with Shields was his last personal encounter. In later 
years it became his duty to give an official reprimand to a young officer 
who had been court-martialed for a quarrel with one of his associates. The 
reprimand is probably the gentlest on record: 

"Quarrel not at all. No man resolved to make the most of himself can 
spare time for personal contention. Still less can he afford to take all the 
consequences, including the vitiating of his temper and the loss of self- 
control. Yield larger things to which you can show no more than equal 
right ; and yield lesser ones, though clearly your own. 

"Better give your path to a dog than be bitten by him in contesting for 
the right. Even killing the dog would not cure the bite." 



"THOROUGH" IS A GOOD WORD. 

Some one came to the President with a story about a plot to accomplish 
some mischief in the Government. Lincoln listened to what was a very 
superficial and ill-formed story, and then said : "There is one thing that I 
have learned, and that you have not. It is only one word — 'thorough' " 

Then, bringing his hand down on the table with a thump to emphasize 
his meaning, he added, "thorough !" 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



211 





THE CABINET WAS A-SETTIN'. 

Being in Washington one day, the Rev. Robert Collyer thought he'd 
take a look around. In passing through the grounds surrounding the 

White House, he cast a 
glance toward the Presiden- 
tial residence, and was aston- 
ished to see three pairs of feet 
resting on the ledge of an 
open window in one of the 
apartments of the second 
story. The divine paused for 
a moment, calmly surveyed 
the unique spectacle, and 
then resumed his walk to- 
ward the War Department. 
Seeing a la- 
borer at 
work not far 
from the Ex- 
ecutive Man- 
s i o n. Mr. 
Collyer 
asked him 
w h a t i t a 1 1 
m e a n t. To 
whom d i d 
the feet be- 
long, and, particularly, the mammoth ones? "You old fool," answered the 
workman, "that's the Cabinet, which is a-settin', an' them thar big feet 
belongs to 'Old Abe.' " 



A BUILET THROUGH HIS HAT. 

'A soldier tells the following story of an attempt upon the life of IMr. 
Lincoln : 

"One night I was doing sentinel duty at the entrance to the Soldiers' 



212 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

Home. This was about the niiddlc of August, 1864. About eleven o'clock 
I heard a rifle shot, in the direction of the city, and shortly afterwards I 
heard approaching hoof-beats. In two or three minutes a horse came dash- 
ing up. I recognized the belated President. The President was bare- 
headed. The President simply thought that his horse had taken fright at the 
discharge of the firearms. 

"On going back to the place where the shot had been heard, we found 
the President's hat. It was a plain silk hat, and upon examination we dis- 
covered a bullet hole through the crown. 

'"The next day, upon receiving the hat, the President remarked that it 
was made by some foolish marksman, and was not intended for him; but 
added that he wished nothing said about the matter. 

"The President said, philosophically: T long ago made up my mind 
that if anybody wants to kill me, he will do it. Besides, in this case, it seems 
to me, the man who would succeeil me would be just as objectionable to 
my enemies — if I have any.' 

"One dark night, as he was going out with a friend, he took along a 
heavy cane, remarking, good-naturedly : 

" 'Mother (Mrs. Lincoln) has got a notion into her head that I shall be 
assassinated, and to please her I take a cane when I go over to the War 
Department at night — when I don't forget it.' " 



NO KIND TO GET TO HEAVEN ON. 

Two ladies from Tennessee called at the White House one day and begged 
Mr. Lincoln to release their husbands, who were rebel prisoners at Johnson's 
Island. One of the fair petitioners urged as a reason for the liberation of 
her husband that he was a very religious man, and rang the changes on this 
pious plea. 

"Madam," said Mr. Lincoln, "you say your husband is a religious man. 
Perhaps I am not a good judge of such matters, but in my opinion the 
religion that makes men rebel and fight against their government is not 
the genuine article; nor is the religion the right sort which reconciles them 
to the idea of eating their bread in the sweat of other men's faces. It is not 
the kind to get to heaven on." 

Later, however, the order of release was made, President Lincoln remark- 



ARXS AND STORIES. 



21.^ 



ing, with impressive solemnity, that he would expect the ladies to subdue 
the rebellious spirit of their husbands, and to that end he thought it would 
be well to reform their religion. 

"True patriotism." said he. "is better than the wrong kind of piety." 



THE ONLY REAL PEACEMAXER. 

During the Presidential campaign of 1864 much ill-feeling was displayed 
bv the opposition to President Lincoln. The Democratic managers issued 
posters of large dimensions, picturing the Washington Administration as 




one determined to rule or ruin the country, while the only salvation iov the 
United States was the election of McClellan. 

We reproduce one of these 1864 campaign posters on this page, the title 
of which is, "The True Issue; or 'That's What's the Matter.' " 

The dominant idea or purpose of the cartoon-poster was to demonstrate 
McClellan's availability. Lincoln, the Abolitionist, and Davis, the Seces- 
sionist, are pictured as bigots of the worst sort, who were determined that 



214 "ABE'' LINCOLN'S 

peace should not be restored to the distracted country, except upon tlie Hnes 
laid down by them. McClellan, the patriotic peacemaker, is shown as the 
man who believed in the preservation of the Union above all things — a man 
who had no fads nor vagaries. 

This peacemaker, McClellan, standing upon "the War-is-a-failure" plat- 
form, is portrayed as a military chieftain, who would stand no nonsense; who 
would compel Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Davis to cease their quarreling; who 
would order the soldiers on both sides to quit their blood-letting and send 
the combatants back to the farm, workshop and counting-house; and the 
man whose election v. ould restore order out of chaos, and make everything 
bright and lovely. 



THE APPLE WOMAN'S PASS. 

One day when President Lincoln was receiving callers a buxom Irish 
woman came into the office, and, standing before the President, with her 
hands on her hips, said : 

"Mr. Lincoln, can't I sell apples on the railroad?" 

President Lincoln replied: "Certainly, madam, you can sell all you 
wish." 

"But," she said, "you must give me a pass, or the soldiers will not 
let me." 

President Lincoln then wrote a few lines and gave them to her. 

"Thank you, sir; God bless you!" she exclaimed as she departed joy- 
fully. 



SPLIT RAILS BY THE YARD. 

It was in the spring of 1830 that "Abe" Lincoln, "wearing a jean jacket, 
shrunken buckskin trousers, a coonskin cap, and driving an ox-team," 
became a citizen of Illinois. He was physically and mentally equipped for 
pioneer work. Plis first desire was to obtain a new and decent suit of clothes, 
but, as he had no money, he was glad to arrange with Nancy Miller to make 
him a pair of trousers, he to spht four hundred fence rails for each yard of 
cloth — fourteen hundred rails in all. "Abe" got the clothes after awhile. 

It was three miles from his father's cabin to her wood-lot, where he made 



YARNS AND STORIES. 215 

the forest riug with the sound of his ax. "Abe" had helped his father plow 
fifteen acres of land, and split enough rails to fence it, and he then helped 
to plow fifty acres for another settler. 



THE QUESTION OF LEGS. 

Whenever the people of Lincoln's neighborhood engaged in dispute; 
whenever a bet was to be decided; when they differed on points of religion 
or politics; when they wanted to get out of trouble, or desired advice regard- 
ing anything on the earth, below it, above it. or under the sea, they went to 
"Abe." 

Two fellows, after a hot dispute lasting some hours, over the problem 
as to how long a man's legs should be in proportion to the size of his body, 
stamped into Lincoln's ofifice one day and put the question to him. 

Lincoln listened gravely to the arguments advanced by both con- 
testants, spent some time in "reflecting" upon the matter, and then, turning 
around in his chair and facing the disputants, delivered his opinion with all 
the gravity of a judge sentencing a fellow-being to death. 

"This question has been a source of controversy," he said, slowly and 
deliberately, "for untold ages, and it is about time it should be definitely 
decided. It has led to bloodshed in the past, and there is no reason to 
suppose it will not lead to the same in the future. 

"After much thought and consideration, not to mention mental worry 
and anxiety, it is my opinion, all side issues being swept aside, that a man's 
lower limbs, in order to preserve harmony of proportion, should be at least 
long enough to reach from his body to the ground." 



TOO MANY WIDOWS ALREADY. 

A Union olificer in conversation one day told this story: 

"The first week I was with my command there were twenty-four deserters 

sentenced by court-martial to be shot, and the warrants for their execution 

were sent to the President to be signed. He refused. 
"I went to Washington and had an interview. I said: 



r 



216 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

" 'Mr. President, unless these men are made an example of. the army 
itself is in danger. Mercy to the few is cruelty to the many.' 

"He replied: 'Mr. General, there are already too many weeping widows 
in the United States. For God's sake, don't ask me to add to the number, 
for I won't do it.' " 



GOD NEEDED THAT CHURCH. 

In the early stages of the war, after several battles had been fought. 
Union troops seized a church in Alexandria, Va., and used it as a hospital. 

A prominent lady of the congregation went to Washington to see Mr. 
Lincoln and try to get an order for its release. 

"Have you applied to the surgeon in charge at Alexandria?" inquired Mr. 
Lincoln. 

"Yes, sir" but I can do nothing with him," was the reply. 

"Well, madam," said Mr. Lincoln, "that is an end of it, then. We put 
him there to attend to just such business, and it is reasonable to suppose that 
he knows better what should be done under the circumstances than I do." 

The lady's face showed her keen disappointment. In order to learn her 
sentiment, Mr. Lincoln asked: 

"How much would you be willing to subscribe toward building a hospital 
there?" 

She said that the war had depreciated Southern property so much that 
she could afford to give but little. 

"This war is not over yet," said Mr. Lincoln, "and there will likely be 
another fight very soon. That church may be very useful in which to house 
our wounded soldiers. It is my candid opinion that God needs that church 
for our wounded fellows; so, madam, I can do nothing for you." 



THE MAN DO'WN SOUTH. 

An amusing instance of the President's preoccupation of mind occurred 
at one of his levees, when he was shaking hands with a host of visitors pass- 
ing him in a continuous stream. 

An intimate acquaintance received the usual conventional hand-shake 
and salutation, but perceiving that he was not recognized, kept his ground 
instead of moving on, and spoke again, when the President, roused to a dim 



YARXS AND STORIES. 



217 



consciousness that something unusual had happened, perceived wlio stood 
before him, and, seizing his friend's hand, shook it again heartily, saying: 

"How do you do? How do you do? Excuse me for not noticing you. 
I was thinking of a man down South." 

"The man down South" was General W. T. Sherman, then on his march 
to the sea. 



COULDN'T LET GO THE HOG. 



i»'*>'^ 



When Governor Custer of Pennsylvania described the terrible butchery 
at the battle of Fredericksburg, Mr. Lincoln was almost broken-hearted. 

The Governor regretted that his description had so sadly affected the 
President. He remarked : "I would give all I possess to know how to res- 
cue you from this terrible war." Then Mr. 
Lincoln's wonderful recuperative powers 
asserted themselves and this mar\'elous 
man was himself. 

Lincoln's whole aspect suddenly 
changed, and he relieved his mind by tell- 
ing a story. 

"This reminds me. Governor," he said, 
"of an old farmer out in lUinois that I used 
to know. 

"He took it into his head to go into 
hog-raising. He sent out to Europe and 
imported the finest breed of hogs he could 
buy. 

"The prize hog was put in a pen, and 
tlie farmer's two mischievous boys, James 
and John, were told to be sure not to let 
it out. But James, the worst of the two, 
let the brute out the next dav. The hog 

went straight for the boys, and drove John up a tree, then the hog went for 
the seat of James' trousers, and the only way the boy could save himself was 
by holding on to the hog's tail. 

"The hog would not give up his hunt, nor the boy his hold! After they 
had made a good many circles around the tree, the boy's courage began to 




^ 



2i8 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

give out, and he shouted to his brother, 'I say, John, come down, quick, and 
help me let go this hog !' 

"Now, Governor, that is exactly my case. I ^vish some one would ceme 
and help me to let the hog go." 



THE CABINET LINCOLN WANTED. 

Judge Joseph Gillespie, of Chicago, was a firm friend of Mr. Lincoln, 
and went to Springfield to see him shortly before his departure for the 
inauguration. 

"It was," said Judge Gillespie, "Lincoln's Gethsemane. He feared he 
was not the man for the great position and the great events which con- 
fronted him. LIntried in national afifairs, unversed in international diplom- 
acy, unacquainted with the men who were foremost in the politics of the 
nation, he groaned when he saw the inevitable War of the Rebellion coming 
on. It was in humility of spirit that he told me he believed that the American 
people had made a mistake in selecting him. 

"In the course of our conversation he told me if he could select his 
cabinet from the old bar that had traveled the circuit with him in the early 
days, he believed he could avoid war or settle it without a battle, even after 
the fact of secession. 

" 'But, Mr. Lincoln,' said I, 'those old lawyers are all Democrats.' 

" 'I know it,' was his reply. 'But I would rather have Democrats whom I 
know than Republicans I don't know.' " 



READY FOB, "BUTCHER-DAY." 

Leonard Swett told this eminently characteristic story: 
"I remember one day being in his room when Lincoln was sitting at his 
table with a large pile of papers before him, and after a pleasant talk he 
turned quite abruptly and said: 'Get out of the way, Swett; to-morrow is 
butcher-day, and I must go through these papers and see if I cannot find 
some excuse to let these poor fellows off.' 

"The pile of papers he had were the records of courts-martial of men 
who on the following day were to be shot." 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



219 



<Jl k ! you. mav 

It irer/i'i- forihis 
MucC fd .soon 
felc\ ijou out oP 



"THE BAD BIKD AND THE MUDSILL." 

It took quite a long time, as well as the lives of thousands of men, to say 
nothing of the cost in money, to take Richmond, the Capital City of the 
Confederacy. In this cartoon, taken from "Frank Leslie's Illustrated News- 
paper," of February 21, 
1863, Jeff Davis is sitting 
upon the Secession eggs in 
the "Richmond" nest, smil- 
ing down upon President 
Lincoln, who is up to his 
waist in the ^ilud of Diffi- 
culties. 

The President finally 
waded through the morass, 
in which he had become im- 
mersed, got to the tree, 
climbed its trunk, reached 
the limb, upon which the 
"bad bird" had built its 
nest, threw the mother 
out, destroyed the eggs of 
Secession, and then took 
the nest away with him, leaving the "bad bird" without any home at all. 

The "bad bird" had its laugh first, but tiie last laugh belonged to the 
"mudsill," as the cartoonist was pleased to call the President of the United 
States. It is true that the President got his clothes and hat all covered with 
mud, but as the job was a dirty one, as well as one that had to be done, the 
President didn't care. He was able to get another suit of clothes, as well as 
another hat, but the "bad bird" couldn't, and didn't, get another nest. 
The laugh was on the "bad bird" after all. 




GAVE THE SOLDIER HIS FISH. 



Once, when asked what he remembered about the war with Great Brit- 
ain, Lincoln replied: "Nothing but this: I had been fishing one day and 
caught a httle fish, which I was taking home. I met a soldier in the road. 



220 "ABE-' LINCOLN'S 

and, having been always told at home that we must be good to tlie soldiers, 
I gave him my fish." 

This must have been about 1814, when "Abe" was five years of age. 



A PECULLAR LAWYER. 

Lincoln was once associate counsel for a defendant in a murder case. 
He listened to the testimony given by witness after witness against his 
client, until his honest heart could stand it no longer; then, turning to his 
associate, he said : "The man is guilty; you defend him — I can't," and when 
his associate secured a verdict of acquittal, Lincoln refused to share the fee 
to the extent of one cent. 

Lincoln would never advise clients to enter into unwise or unjust law- 
suits, always preferring to refuse a retainer rather than be a party to a case 
which did not commend itself to his sense of justice. 



IF THEY'D ONLY "SKIP." 

General Creswell called at the White House to see the President the day 
of the latter's assassination. An old friend, serving in the Confederate 
ranks, had been captured by the Union troops and sent to prison. He had 
drawn an afilKlavit setting forth what he knew about the man. particularly 
mentioning extenuating circumstances. 

Creswell found the President very happy. He was greeted with : "Cres- 
well, old fellow, everything is bright this morning. The War is over. It 
has been a touch time, but we have lived it out, — or some of us have," and 
he dropped his voice a little on the last clause of the sentence. "But it is 
over; we are going to have good times now, and a united country." 

General Creswell told his story, read his afifidavit, and said, "I know the 
man has acted like a fool, but he is my friend, and a good fellow; let him out; 
give him to me, and I will be responsible that he won't have anything more 
to do with the rebs." 

"Cre.swell." replied Mr. Lincoln, "you make me think of a lot of votmg 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



221 




folks who once started out Maying. To reach their destination, tiiey had 

to cross a shallow stream, and did so by means of an old fiatboat. When 

the time came to return, they found to their 

dismay that the old scow had disappeared. 

They were in sore trouble, and thought over 

all manner of devices for getting over the 

water, but without avail. 

"After a time, one of the boys proposed 
that each fellow should pick up the girl he 
liked best and wade over with her. The 
masterly proposition was carried out, until 
all that were left upon the island was a 
little short chap and a great, long, gothic- 
built, elderly lady. - \ . ^ 

"Now, Creswell, you are trying to leave \ , \\, 
me in the same predicament. You fellows ' 
are all getting your own friends out of this'" 
scrape; and you will succeed in carrying ofY 
one after another, until nobody but Jeft 
Davis and myself will be left on the island. 

and then I won't know what to do. How should I feel? How should I 
look, lugging him over? 

"I guess the way to avoid such an embarrassing situation is to let them 
all out at once." 

He made a somewhat similar illustration at an informal Cabinet meeting, 
at which the disposition of Jefierson Davis and other prominent Confeder- 
ates was discussed. Each member of the Cabinet gave his opinion; most 
of them were for hanging the traitors, or for some severe punishment. 
President Lincoln said nothing. 

Finally, Joshua F. Speed, his old and confidential friend, who had been 
invited to the meeting, said, "I have heard the opinion of your Ministers, 
and would like to hear yours." 

"Well, Josh," replied President Lincoln, "when I was a boy in Indiana. 
I went to a neighbor's house one morning and found a boy of my own size 
holding a coon by a string. I asked him what he had and what he was 
doing. 

"He says, 'It's a coon. Dad cotched six last night, and killed all but 
this poor little cuss. Dad told me to hold him until he came back, and I'm 



222 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

afraid he's going to kill this one too; and oh, "Abe," I do wish he would 
get away!' 

" 'Well, why don't you let him loose?' 

" 'That wouldn't be right; and if I let him go, Dad would give me h . 

But if he got away himself, it would be all right.' 

"Now," said the President, "if Jefif Davis and those other fellows will 
only get away, it will be all right. But if we should catch them, and I should 
let them go, 'Dad would give me h !' " 



FATHER OF THE 'GREENBACK." 

Don Piatt, a noted journalist of Washington, told the story of the first 
proposition to President Lincoln to issue interest-bearing notes as currency, 
as follows: 

"Amasa Walker, a distinguished financier of New England, suggested 
that notes issued directly from the Government to the people, as currency, 
should bear interest. This for the purpose, not only of making the notes pop- 
ular, but for the purpose of preventing inflation, by inducing people to hoard 
the notes as an investment when the demands of trade would fail to call them 
into circulation as a currency. 

"This idea struck David Taylor, of Ohio, with such force that he sought 
Mr. Lincoln and urged him to put the project into immediate execution. 
The President listened patiently, and at the end said, 'That is a good idea, 
Taylor, but you must go to Chase. He is running that end of the machine, 
and has time to consider your proposition.' 

"Taylor sought the Secretary of the Treasury, and laid before him 
Amasa Walker's plan. Secretary Chase heard him through in a cold, 
unpleasant manner, and then said: 'That is all very well, Mr. Taylor; but 
there is one little obstacle in the way that makes the plan impracticable, and 
that is the Constitution.' 

"Saying this, he turned to his desk, as if dismissing both Mr. Taylor and 
his proposition at the same moment. 

"The poor enthusiast felt rebuked and humiliated. He returned to the 
President, however, and reported his defeat. Mr. Lincoln looked at the 
would-be financier with the expression at times so peculiar to his homely 
face, that left one in doubt whether he was jesting or in earnest. 'Taylor !' 
he exclaimed, "go back to Chase and tell him not to bother himself about 



YARNS AND STORIES. 2-23 

the Constitution. Say that I have that sacred instrument here at the White 
House, and I am guarding it witli great care.' 

"Taylor demurred to this, on the ground that Secretary Chase showed 
by his manner that he knew all about it, and didn't wish to be bored by any 
suggestion. 

" 'We'll see about that,' said the President, and taking a card from the 
table, he wrote upon it: 

" 'The Secretary of the Treasury will please consider Mr. Taylor's prop- 
osition- We must have money, and I think this a good way to get it. 

" 'A. LINCOLN.' " 



MAJOR ANDERSON'S BAD MEMORY. 

Among the men whom Captain Lincoln met in the Black Hawk cam- 
paign were Lieutenant-Colonel Zachary Taylor, Lieutenant Jefferson Davis, 
President of the Confederacy, and Lieutenant Robert Anderson, all of the 
United States Army. 

Judge Arnold, in his "Life of Abraham Lincoln," relates that Lincoln and 
Anderson did not meet again until some time in 1861. After Anderson had 
evacuated Fort Sumter, on visiting Washington, he called at the White 
House to pay his respects to the President. Lincoln expressed his thanks 
to Anderson for his conduct at Fort Sumter, and then said: 

"Major, do you remember of ever meeting rne before?" 

"No, Mr. President, I have no recollection of ever having had that pleas- 
ure." 

"My memory is better than yours," said Lincoln; "you mustered me into 
the service of the United States in 1832, at Dixon's Ferry, in the Black Hawk 
war." 



NO VANDERBILT. 



In February, i860, not long before his nomination for the Presidency, 
Lincoln made several speeches in Eastern cities. To an Illinois acquaint- 
ance, whom he met at the Astor House, in New York, he said : 

"I have the cottage at Springfield, and about three thousand dollars in 



^24 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

money. If they make me Vice-President with Seward, as some say they 
will, I hope I shall be able to increase it to twenty thousand, and that is as 
much as anv man oueht to want." 



SaUASHED A BRUTAL HE. 

In September, 1864. a New York paper printed the following brutal 
story ; 

■'A few days after the battle of Antietam, the President was driving over 
the field in an ambulance, accompanied by Marshal Lamon, General IMcClel- 
lan and another officer. Heavy details of men were engaged in the task of 
burying the dead. The ambulance had just reached the neighborhood of 
the old stone bridge, where the dead were piled highest, when Mr. Lincoln, 
suddenly slapping Marshal Lamon on the knee, exclaimed: 'Come, Lamon, 
give us that song about '"Picayune Butler"; McClellan has never heard it.' 

" 'Not now, if you please,' said General McClellan, with a shudder; 'I 
would prefer to hear it some other place and time.' " 

President Lincoln refused to pay any attention to the story, would 
not read the comments made upon it by the newspapers, and would permit 
neither denial nor explanation to be made. The National election was 
coming on, and the President's friends appealed to him to settle the matter 
for once and all. Marshal Lamon was particularly insistent, but the Presi- 
dent merely said : 

"Let the thing alone. If I have not established character enough to give 
the lie to this charge, I can only say that I am mistaken in my own estimate 
of myself. In politics, every man must skin his own skunk. These fellows 
are welcome to the hide of this one. Its body has already given forth its 
unsavory odor." 

But Lamon would not "let the thing alone." He submitted to Lincoln 
a draft of what he conceived to be a suitable explanation, after reading 
which the President said : 

"Lamon, your 'explanation' is entirely too belligerent in tone for so grave 
a matter. There is a heap of 'cussedness' mixed up with your usual amia- 
bility, and you are at times too fond of a fight. If I were you, I would simply 
state the facts as they were. I would give the statement as you have here, 
without the pepper and salt. Let me try my hand at it." 

The President then took up a pen and wrote the following, which was 








.i 




GEORGE B. McCLELLAX was the first Cominander-in-Chiet of the L'niun i.jixcs 
in the Civil War. being but thirty-five years old when appointed. President Lincoln gave 
hitn every possible support, providing him w'ith plenty of men and supplies, but Mcr 
Clellan was always complaining and resented the "interference" of the President and 
Secretary of War. He was a great engineer and organizer, but not a fighter, like Grant. 
He was finally relieved by General Halleck, and in 1864 ran against Lincoln as the Demo- 
cratic Presidential candidate. Born in New Jersey in 1826, he died in 1877. (225) 







WILLIAM TKCUMSEH SHERMAN was called "crazy" because, early in the War 
of the Rebellion, he declared it would take many hundred thousand men and several years 
to destroy the Confederacy. President Lincoln was a thorough believer in Sherman's 
sound sense and judgment, and rated him as only second to Grant as a military com- 
mander. His march to the sea was his best known exploit. In 1869 he was made General 
of the Army, retired in 1884. and died in 1891. He was a native of Ohio, born in 1820, and 
was a graduate of West Point in the class of 1840. C226) 



YARNS AND STORIES. 227 

copied and sent out as Marshal Lamon's refutation of the shameless slander : 

"The President has known me intimately for nearly twenty years, and 
has often heard me sing little ditties. The battle of Antietam was fought 
on the 17th day of September, 1862. On the first day of October, just two 
weeks after the battle, the President, with some others, including myself, 
started from Washington to visit the Army, reaching Harper's Ferry at 
noon of that day. 

"In a short while General McClellan came from his headquarters near the 
battle-ground, joined the President, and with him reviewed the troops at 
Bolivar Heights that afternoon, and at night returned to his headquarters, 
leaving the President at Harper's Ferry. 

"On the morning of the second, the President, with General Sumner, 
reviewed the troops respectively at Loudon Heights and Maryland Heights, 
and at about noon started to General McClellan's headquarters, reaching 
there only in time to see very little before night. 

"On the morning of the third all started on a review of the Third Corps 
and the cavalry, in the vicinity of the Antietam battle-ground. After getting 
through with General Burnside's corps, at the suggestion of General McClel- 
lan, he and the President left their horses to be led, and went into an ambu- 
lance to go to General Fitz John Porter's corps, which was two or three 
miles distant. 

"I am not sure whether the President and General McClellan were in 
the same ambulance, or in dififerent ones; but myself and some others were 
in the same with the President. On the way, and on no part of the battle- 
ground, and on what suggestions I do not remember, the President asked 
me to sing the little sad song that follows ("Twenty Years Ago, Tom"), 
which he had often heard me sing, and had always seemed to like very much. 

"After it was over, some one of the party (I do not think it was the Presi- 
dent) asked me to sing something else; and I sang two or three little comic 
things, of which 'Picayune Butler' was one. Porter's corps was reached and 
reviewed; then the battle-ground was passed over, and the most noted parts 
examined; then, in succession, the cavalrj- and Franklin's corps were 
reviewed, and the President and party returned to General McClellan's 
headquarters at the end of a very hard, hot and dusty day's work. 

"Next day (the 4th), the President and General McClellan visited such 
of the wounded as still remained in the vicinity, including the now lamented 
General Richardson; then proceeded to and examined the South-Mountain 
battle-ground, at which point they parted, — General McClellan returning 



228 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

to his camp, and the President returning to Washington, seeing, on the way, 
General Hartsoff, who lay wounded at Frederick Town. 

"This is the whole story of the singing and its surroundings. Neither 
General McClellan nor any one else made any objections to the singing; the 
place was not on the battle-field; the time was sixteen days after the battle; 
no dead body was seen during the whole time the President was absent 
from Washington, nor even a grave that had not been rained on since the 
time it was made." 



"ONE WAR AT A TIME." 

Nothing in Lincoln's entire career belter illustrated the surprising 
resources of his mind than his manner of dealing wiih "The Trent Afifair." 
The readiness and ability with which he met this perilous emergency, in a 
field entirely new to his experience, was worthy the most accomplished 
diplomat and statesman. Admirable, also, was his cool courage and self- 
reliance in following a course radically opposed to the prevailing sentiment 
throughout the country and in Congress, and contrary to the advice of his 
(•\vn Cabinet. 

Secretary of the Navy Welles hastened to approve officially the act of 
Captain Wilkes in apprehending the Confederate Commissioners Mason and 
Slidell, Secretary Stanton publicly applauded, and even Secretary of State 
Seward, whose long public career had made him especially conservative, 
stated that he was opposed to any concession or surrender of Mason and 
Slidell. 

But Lincoln, with great sagacity, simply said, "One war at a time." 



PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S LAST PUBLIC ADDRESS. 

The President made his last public address on the evening of April nth, 
1865, to a gathering at the White House. Said he: 

"We meet this evening not in sorrow, but in gladness of heart. 

"The evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond, and the surrender of the 
principal insurgent army, give hope of a righteous and speedy peace, whose 
joyous expression cannot be restrained. 



YARNS AND STORIES. 229 

"In the midst of this, however. He from whom all blessings flow must 
not be forgotten. 

"Nor must those whose harder part gives us the cause of rejoicing be 
overlooked; their honors must not be parceled out with others. 

"I myself was near the front, and had the high pleasure of transmitting 
the good news to you; but no part of the honor, for plan or execution, is 



mine 



"To General Grant, his skillful officers and brave men, all belongs." 



NO OTHERS LIKE THEM. 



One day an old lady from the country called on President Lincoln, her 
tanned face peering up to his through a pair of spectacles. Her errand 
was to present Mr. Lincoln a pair of stockings of her 
• "^S own make a yard long. Kind tears came to his eyes 
as she spoke to him, and then, holding the stockings 
one in each hand, dangling wide apart for general inspec- 
tion, he assured her that he 
should take them with him 
to Washington, where (and 
here his eyes twinkled) he 
was sure he should not be 
able to find any like them. 

Quite a number of well- 
known men were in the 
room with the President 
when the old lady made her 
presentation. Among them 
was George S. Bout well, 
who afterwards became 
Secretary of the Treasury. 
The amusement of the 
company was not at all di- 
minished by Mr. Boutwell's 
remark, that the lady had 
evidently made a very cor- 
rect estimate of Mr. Lincoln's latitude and longitude. 




230 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

CASH WAS AT HAND. 

Lincoln was appointed postmaster at New Salem by President Jack- 
son. The office was given him because everybody liked him, and because 
he was the only man willing to take it who could make out the returns. 
Lincoln was pleased, because it gave him a chance to read every newspaper 
taken in the vicinity. He had never been able to get half the newspapers he 
wanted before. 

Years after the postoffice had been discontinued and Lincoln had become 
a practicing lawyer at Springfield, an agent of the Postoffice Department 
entered his office and inquired if Abraham Lincoln was within. Lincoln 
responded to his name, and was informed that the agent had called to col- 
lect the balance due the Department since the discontinuance of the New 
Salem office. 

A shade of perplexity passed over Lincoln's face, which did not escape 
the notice of friends present. One of them said at once: 

"Lincoln, if you are in want of money, let us help you." 

He made no reply, but suddenly rose, and pulled out from a pile of books 
a little old trunk, and, returning to the table, asked the agent how much 
the amount of his debt was. 

The sum was named, and then Lincoln opened the trunk, pulled out a 
little package of coin wrapped in a cotton rag, and counted out the exact 
sum, amounting to more than seventeen dollars. 

After the agent had left the room, he remarked quietly that he had never 
used any man's money but his own. Although this sum had been in his 
hands during all those years, he had never regarded it as available, even for 
any temporary use of his own. 



WELCOMED THE LITTLE GIRLS. 

At a Saturday afternoon reception at the White House, many persons 
noticed three little girls, poorly dressed, the children of some mechanic or 
laboring man, who had followed the visitors into the White House to gratify 
their curiosity. They passed around from room to room, and were hastening 
through the reception-room, with some trepidation, when the President 
called to them : 

"Little girls, are you going to pass me without shaking hands?" 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



23 T 



Then he bent his tall, awkward form down, and shook each little gir' 
warmly by the hand. Everybody in the apartment was spellbound by the 
incident, so simple in itself. 



"DON'T SWAP HORSES." 

Uncle Sam was pretty well satisfied with his horse, "Old Abe," and, as 
shown at the Presidential election of 1864, made up his mind to keep him, 
and not "swap" the tried and true animal for a strange one. "Harper's 







Weekly" of November 12th. 1864, had a cartoon which illustrated how the 
people of the United States felt about the matter better than anything pub- 
lished at the time. We reproduce it on this page. Beneath the picture was 
this text: 

JOHN BULL: "Why don't you ride the other horse a bit? He's the 
best animal." (Pointing to McClellan in the bushes at the rear.) 

BROTHER JONATHAN: "Well, that may be; but the fact is, OLD 



232 . "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

ABE is just where I can put ray finger on him; and as for the other — though 
they say he's some when out in tiie scrub yondef — I never know where to 
find him." 



MOST VALUABLE POLITICAL ATTRIBUTE. 

"One time I remember I asked Mr. Lincohi what attribute he con- 
sidered most vahiable to tlie successful politician," said Captain T. W. S. 
Kidd, of Springfield. 

"He laid his hand on my shoulder and said, very earnestly : 

" 'To be able to raise a cause which shall produce an effect, and then 
fight the effect.' 

"The more you think about it, the more profound does it become." 



"ABE" RESENTED THE INSULT. 

A cashiered officer, seeking to be restored through the power of the 
executive, became insolent, because the President, who believed the man 
guilty, would not accede to his repeated requests, at last said, "Well, Mr. 
President, I see you are fully determined not to do me justice !" 

This was too aggravating even for Mr. Lincoln; rising he suddenly 
seized the disgraced officer by the coat collar, and marched him forcibly to 
the door, saying as he ejected him into the passage : 

"Sir, I give you fair warning never to show your face-in this' room again. 
I can bear censure, but not insult. I never wish to see your face again." 



ONE MAN ISN'T MISSED. 

Salmon P. Chase, when Secretary of the Treasury, had a disagreement 
with other members of the Cabinet, and resigned. 

The President was urged not to accept it, as "Secretary Chase is to-day a 
national necessity," his advisers said. 

"How mistaken you are!" Lincoln quietly observed. "Yet it is not 



YARNS AND STORIES. 233 

strange; I used to have similar notions. No! If we should all be turned out 
to-morrow, and could come back here in a week, we should find our places 
tilled by a lot of fellows doing just as well as we did, and in many instances 
better. 

"Now, this reminds me of what the Irishman said. His verdict was that 
'in this country one man is as good as another; and. for the matter of that, 
very often a great deal better.' No; this Government does not depend upon 
the life of any man." 



"STRETCHED THE FACTS." 

George B. Lincoln, a prominent merchant of Brooklyn, was traveling 
through the West in 1855-56, and found himself one night in a town on the 
Illinois River, by the name of Naples, ^he only tavern of the place had 
evidently been constructed with reference to business on a small scale. 
Poor as the prospect seemed, Mr. Lincoln had no alternative but to put up 
at the place. 

The supper-room was also used as a lodging-room. Mv. Lincoln told 
liis host that he thought he would "go to bed." 

"Bed!"' echoed the landlord. "There is no bed for you in this house 
unless you sleep with that man yonder. He has the only one we have to 
spare." 

"Well," returned Air. Lincoln, "the gentleman has possession, and per- 
haps would not like a bed-fellow." 

Upon this a grizzly head appeared out of llic pillows, and said: 

"What is your name?" 

"They call me Lincoln at home," was the reply. 

"Lincoln!" repeated the stranger; "any connection of our Illinois 
Abraham?" 

"No," replied Mr. Lincoln. "I fear not." 

"Well," said the old gentleman, "I will let any man by the name of 
'Lincoln' sleep with me, just for the sake of the name. You have heard of 
Abe?" he inquired. 

"Oh, yes, very often," replied Mr. Lincoln. "No man could travel far 
in this State without hearing of him, and I would be very glad to claim con- 
nection if I could do s<i honestly." 

"Well," said the old gentleman, "my name is Simmons. '.Abe' and I 



234 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

used to live and work together when young men. Many a job of wood- 
cutting and rail-splitting have I done up with him. Abe Lincoln was the 
likeliest boy in God's world. He would work all day as hard as any of us — 
and study by firelight in the log-house half the night; and in this way he 
made himself a thorough, practical surveyor. Once, during those days, I 
was in the upper part of the State, and I met General Ewing, whom Presi- 
dent Jackson had sent to the Northwest to make surveys. T lokl him about 
Abe Lincoln, what a student he was, and that I wanted he should give him 
a job. He looked over his memorandum, and, holding out a paper, said : 

" 'There is County must be surveyed ; if your friend can do the work 

properly, I shall be glad to have him undertake it — the compensation wnll 
be six hundred dollars.' 

"Pleased as I could be, 1 hastened to Abe, after I got home, with an 
account of what I had secured for him. He was sitting before the fire in the 
log-cabin when I told him; and what do you think was his answer? When. 
I finished, he looked up very quietly, and said : 

" 'Mr. Simmons, I thank you very sincerely for your kindness, but 1 
don't think I will undertake the job.' 

" 'In the name of wonder,' said L 'why? Six hundred does not grow 
upon every bush out here in Illinois.' 

" 'I know that,' said Abe, 'and I need the money bad enough, Simmons, 
as you know; but I have never been under obligation to a Democratic 
Administration, and I never intend to be so long as I can get my living 
another way. General Ewing must find another man to do his work.' " 

.\ friend related this story to the President one day, and asked him if it 
were true. 

"Pollard Simmons!" said Lincoln. "Well do I remember him. It is 
correct about our working together, but the old man must have stretched 
the facts somewhat about the survey of the county. I think I should have 
been very glad of the job at the time, no matter what Administration was in 
power." 



IT LENGTHENED THE WAR. 

President Lincoln said, long before the National political campaign of 
1864 had opened: 

"If the unworthy ambition of politicians and the jealousy that exists in the 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



235 



army could be repressed, and all unite in a common aim and a common 
endeavor, the rebellion would soon be crushed." 



HIS THEORY OF THE REBELLION. 



The President once explained to a friend the theory of the Rebellion by 
the aid of the maps before him. 

Running his long fore-finger down the map, he stopped at Virginia. 

"We must drive them away from here" 
(Manassas Gap), he said, "and clear them out 
of this part of the State so that they caimot 
threaten us here (Washington) and get into 
Maryland. 

"We must keep up a good and thorough 
blockade of their ports. We must march an 
army into East Tennessee and liberate the 
Union sentiment there. Finally wc must 
rely on the people growing tired and saying to 
their leaders. 'We have 

thing, we 




had enough of this 
will bear it no 



longer.' " 

Such was President Lin- 
coln's plan for heading off the 
Rebellion in the summer of 
How it enlarged as the War progressed, 
call for seventy thousand volunteers to 
one for five hundred thousand men and $500,- 
000,000 is a matter of well-known history. 



RAN AWAY WHEN VICTORIOUS. 



Three or four days after the battle of Bull Run, some gentlemen who had 
been on the field called upon the President. 

He inquired very minutely regarding all the circumstances of the ai?air, 
and, after listening with the utmost attention, said, with a touch of humor: 



236 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

"So it is your notion that we whipped the rebels and then ran away from 
them!" 



WANTED STANTON SPANKED. 

Old Dennis Hanks was sent to Washington at one time by persons inter- 
ested in securing the release from jail of several men accused of being cop- 
perheads. It was thought Old Dennis might have some influence with the 
President. 

The latter heard Dennis' story and then said: "I will send for Mr. Stan- 
ton. It is his business." 

Secretary Stanton came into the room, stormed up and down, and said 
the men ought to be punished more than they were. Mr. Lincoln sat quietly 
in his chair and waited for the tempest to subside, and then quietly said to 
Stanton he would like to have the papers next day. 

When he had gone, Dennis said: 

" 'Abe,' if I was as big and as ugly as you are, I would take him over ni\' 
knee and spank him." 

The President replied : "No, Stanton is an able and valuable man for this 
Nation, and I am glad to bear his anger for the service he can give the 
Nation." 



STANTON WAS OUT OF TOWN. 

The quaint remark of the President to an applicant, "My dear sir, I 
have not nnich influence with the Administration," was one of Lincoln's 
little jokes. 

Mr. Stanton, Secretary of War, once replied to an order from the Presi- 
dent to give a colonel a commission in place of the resigning brigadier: 

"I shan't do it, sir ! I shan't do it ! It isn't the way to do it, sir, and I 
shan't do it. I don't propose to argue the question with you, sir." 

A few days after, the friend of the applicant who had presented the order 
to Secretary Stanton called upon the President and related his reception. 
A look of vexation came over the face of the President, and he seemed unwill- 
ing to talk of it, and desired the friend to see him another day. He did so, 
Avhen he gave his visitor a positive order for the promotion. The latter told 
liim he would not speak to Secretary Stanton again until he apologized. 



I 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



237 



"Oh," said the President. "Stanton has j^one to Fortress Monroe, and 
Dana is acting. lie will attend to it for you." 

This he said with a manner of rcHef, as if it was a piece of good luck to 
find a man there who would obey his orders. 

The nomination was sent to the Senate and confirmed. 



IDENTIFIED THE COLORED MAN. 



Many applications reached Lincoln as he passed to and from the White 
House and the War Department. One day as he crossed the park he was 
stopped by a negro, who told 
him a pitiful story. The Pres- 
ident wrote him out a check, 
which read: "Pay to colored 
man with one leg five dol- 
lars." 




OFFICE SEEKEKS 

WORSE THAN 

WAR. 

When the Republican 
party came into power, 
Washington swarmed with 
office-seekers. They over- 
ran the White House and 
gave the President great an- 
noyance. The incongruity 
of a man in his position, and 
with the very life of the coun- 
tr}- at stake, pausing to ap- 
point postmasters, struck Mr. 
Lincoln forcibly. "What is 
the matter. Mr. Lincoln," said -a friend one day, when he saw 



lokint 



particularly grave and dispirited. "Has anything gone wrong at the front?" 



238 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

"No," said the President, with a tired smile, "It isn't the war; it's the 
postoffice at Brownsville, Missouri." 



HE "SET 'EM UP." 



Iinmediately after Mr. Lincoln's nomination for President at the Chi- 
cago Convention, a committee, of which Governor Morgan, of New York, 
was chairman, visited him in Springfield, III., where he was officially informed 
of his nomination. 

After this ceremony had passed, Mr. Lincoln remarked to the company 
that as a fit ending to an interview so important and interesting as that 
which had just taken place, he supposed good manners would require that he 
should treat the committee with something to drink; and opening the door 
that led into the rear, he called out, "Mary ! Mary !" A girl responded to 
the call, to whom Mr. Lincoln spoke a few words in an undertone, and, 
closing the door, returned again and talked with his guests. In a few min- 
utes the maid entered, bearing a large waiter, containing several glass tum- 
blers, and a large pitcher, and placed them upon the center-table. Mr. Lin- 
coln arose, and, gravely addressing the company, said : "Gentlemen, we 
must pledge our mutual health in the most healthy beverage that God has 
given to man — it is the only beverage I have ever used or allowed my family 
to use, and I cannot conscientiously depart from it on the present occasion. 
It is pure Adam's ale from the spring." And, taking the tumbler, he touched 
it to his lips, and pledged them his highest respects in a cup of cold water. 
Of course, all his guests admired his consistency, and joined in his example. 



WASN'T STANTON'S SAY. 

A few days before the President's death. Secretary Stanton tendered his 
resignation as Secretary of War. He accompanied the act with a most heart- 
felt tribute to Mr. Lincoln's constant friendship and faithful devotion to the 
country, saying, also, that he, as Secretary, had accepted the position to 
hold it only until the war should end, and that now he felt his work was 
done, and his duty was to resign. 

Mr. Lincoln was greatly moved by the Secretary's words, and, tearing in 



YARNS 'AND STORIES. 



239 



pieces the paper containing the resignation, and throwing his arms about 
the Secretary, he said : 

"Stanton, you have been a good friend and a faithful public servant, and 
it is not for you to say when you will no longer be needed here." 

Several friends of both parties were present on the occasion, and there 
was not a dry eye that witnessed the scene. 



"JEFFY" THREW TIP THE SPONGE. 



When the War was -fairly on, many people w-ere astonished to find that 
"Old Abe" was a fighter from "way back." No one was the victim of greater 
amazement than Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of 
America. Davis found out that "Abe" was not only a hard hitter, but had 

staying qualities of a high 
order. It was a fight to a 
"finish" with "Abe," no 
compromises being accept- 
ed. Over the title, "North 
and South," the issue of 
"Frank Leslie's Illustrated 
Newspaper" of December 
24th, 1864, contained the 
cartoon we reproduce on 
this page. Underneath the 
picture were the lines : 

"Now, Jeffy, when you 
think you have had enough 
of this, say so, and I'll leave 
off." (See President's mes- 
sage.) In his message to 
Congress, December 6th, 
President Lincoln said: "No attempt at negotiation with the insurgent 
leader could result in any good. He would accept of nothing short of the 
severance of the Union." 

Therefore, Father Abraham, getting "Jeffy's" head "in chancery," pro- 
ceeded to change the appearance and size of the secessionist's countenance, 
much to the grief and discomfort of the Southerner. It was Lincoln's idea 




240 "ABE" LINCOLNS 

to re-establish the Union, and he carried out his purpose to the very letter. 
But he didn't "leave off" until "Jeffy" cried "enough." 



DIDN'T KNOW GRANT'S PREFERENCE. 

In October, 1864, President Lincoln, while he knew his re-election to 
the White House was in no sense doubtful, knew that if he lost New York 
and with it Pennsylvania on the home vote, the moral effect of his triumph 
would be broken and his power to prosecute the war and make peace would 
be greatly impaired. Colonel A. K. McClure was with Lincoln a good deal 
of the time previous to the November election, and tells this story: 

"His usually sad face was deeply shadowed with sorrow when I told 
him that I saw no reasonable prospect of carrying Pennsylvania on the 
home vote, although we had about held our own in the hand-to-hand con- 
flict through which we were passing. 

" 'Well, what is to be done?' was Lincoln's inquiry, after the whole sit- 
uation had been presented to him. I answered that the solution of the prob- 
lem was a very simple and easy one — that Grant was idle in front of Peters- 
burg; that Sheridan had won all possible victories in the Valley; and that if 
five thousand Pennsylvania soldiers could be furloughed home from each 
army, the election could be carried without doubt. 

"Lincoln's face brightened instantly at the suggestion, and I saw that 
he was quite ready to execute it. I said to him: 'Of course, you can trust 
Grant to make the suggestion to him to furlough five thousand Pennsylvania 
troops for two weeks?' 

" 'To my surprise, Lincoln made no answer, and the bright face of a few 
moments before was instantly shadowed again. I was much disconcerted, 
as I supposed that Grant was the one man to whom Lincoln could turn with 
absolute confidence as his friend. I then said, with some earnestness : 
'Surely, Mr. President, you can trust Grant with a confidential suggestion 
to furlough Pennsylvania troops?' 

"Lincoln remained silent and evidently distressed at the proposition I 
was pressing upon him. After a few moments, and speaking with emphasis, 
I said : 'It can't be possible that Grant is not your friend; he can't be such an 
ingrate?' 

"Lincoln hesitated for some time, and then answered in these words: 



YARNS AND STORIES. 241 

'Well, McClure, I have no reason to believe that Grant prefers my election 
to that of McCIellan.' 

"I believe Lincoln was mistaken in his distrust of Grant." 



JUSTICE vs. NUMBERS, 

Lincoln was constantly bothered by members of delegations of "goody- 
goodies," who knew all about running the War, but had no inside informa- 
tion as to what was going on. Yet, they poured out their advice in streams, 
until the President was heartily sick of the whole business, and wished the 
War would find some way to kill ofif these nuisances. 

"How many men have the Confederates now in the field?" asked one of 
these bores one day. 

"About one million two hundred thousand," replied the President. 

"Oh, my! Not so many as that, surely, Mr. Lincoln." 

"They have fully twelve hundred thousand, no doubt of it. You see, 
all of our generals when they get whipped say the enemy outnumbers them 
from three or five to one, and I must believe them. We have four hundred 
thousand men in the field, and three times four make twelve, — don't you 
see it? It is as plain to be seen as the nose on a man's face; and at the rate 
things are now going, with the great amount of speculation and the small 
crop of fighting, it will take a long time to overcome twelve hundred thou- 
sand rebels in arms. 

"If they can get subsistence they have everything else, except a just 
cause. Yet it is said that 'thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just.' 
I am willing, however, to risk our advantage of thrice in justice against 
their thrice in numbers." 



NO FALSE PRIDE IN LINCOLN. 

General McClellan had little or no conception of the greatness of Abra- 
ham Lincoln. As time went on, he began to show plainly his contempt 
of the President, frequently allowing him to wait in the ante-room of his 
house while he transacted business with others. This discourtesy was so 
open that McGlellan's staff noticed it, and newspaper correspondents com- 



^4^ 



"ABE" LINCOLN'S 



merited on it. The President was too keen not to see the situation, but he 
was strong enough to ignore it. It was a battle he wanted from McClellan, 
not deference. 

"I will hold McClellan's horse, if he will only bring us success," he said 
one day. 



EXTRA MEMBER OF THE CABINET. 

G. 'H. Giddings was selected as the bearer of a message from the Presi- 
dent to Governor Sam Houston, of Texas. A conflict had arisen there 
between the Southern party and the Governor, Sam Houston, and on March 
i8 the latter had been deposed. When Mr. Lincoln heard of this, he 
decided to try to get a message to the Governor, offering United States 
support if he would put himself at the head of the Union party of the State. 

Mr. Giddings thus told of his interview with the President: 

"He said to me that the message was of such importance that, before 
handing it to me, he would read it to me. Before beginning to read he 
said, 'This is a confidential and secret message. No one besides my Cabinet 
and myself knows anything about it, and we are all sworn to secrecy. I 
am going to swear you in as one of my Cabinet.' 

"And then he said to me in a jocular way, 'Hold up your right hand,' 
which I did. 

" 'Now,' said he, 'consider yourself a member of my Cabinet.' " 



HOW IINOOLN WAS ABUSED. 

With the possible exception of President Washington, whose political 
opponents did not hesitate to rob the vocabulary of vulgarity and wicked- 
ness whenevvY they desired to vilify the Chief Magistrate, Lincoln was the 
most and "best" abused man who ever held office in the United States. 
During the first half of his initial term there was no epithet which was not 
applied to him. >-• 

One newspaper in New York habitually characterized him as "that hid- 
eous baboon at the other end of the avenue," and declared that "Barnum 
should buy and exhibit him as a zoological curiosity." 

Although the President did not, to all appearances, exhibit annoyance 




PHILIP H. SHERIDAN, ihe greatest cavalry commander the world ever knew, was 
a special favorite with President Lincoln, who admired his capability, push and gallantry. 
Sheridan was but thirty-three years old when he performed the feat of beating Early at 
Winchester. Later, when he telegraphed Grant that he could "smash the enemy if he 
pushed things." and was ordered by Grant to "push things," he was instrumental in 
bringing about Lee's surrender. He was created General of the Army in 1884, and died 
in 1888, at the age of fifty-seven. He was a native of New York. (243) 




WILLIAW b. KObLLkAKb, m uhum the Picbident had a n.rtam degiee of confi- 
dence, was, to an extent, one of the mihtary "unfortunates" of the War. He whipped General 
Price at luka, repulsed the Confederates at Corinth, defeated Bragg at Stone River, was 
saved by Thomas at Chickainauga, and forced to "bottle" himself up at Chattanooga. 
Grant was sent there to extricate the Union forces, which he soon did. Rosecrans soon 
after the War resigned from the Army, was a member of Congress and Register of the 
Treasury; was restored to the Army as brigadier-general and retired and died in 1898. He 
was born in Ohio in 1819. (244) 



¥ARNS AND STORIES. 245 

because of the various diatribes printed and spoken, yet the fact is that his 
life was so cruelly embittered by these and other expressions quite as viru- 
lent, that he often declared to those most intimate with him, "I would rather 
be dead than, as President, thus abused in the house of my friends." 



HOW "FIGHTING JOE" WAS APPOINTED. 

General "Joe" Hooker, the fourth commander of the noble but unfortu- 
nate Army of the Potomac, was appointed to that position by President Lin- 
coln in January, 1863. General Scott, for some reason, disliked Hooker and 
would not appoint him. Hooker, after some months of discouraging wait- 
ing, decided to return to California, and called to pay his respects to Presi- 
dent Lincoln. He was introduced as Captain Hooker, and to the surprise of 
the President began the following speech : 

"Mr. President, my friend makes a mistake. I am not Captain Hooker, 
but was once Lieutenant-Colonel Hooker of the regular army. I was 
lately a farmer in Cahfornia, but since the Rebellion broke out I have been 
trying to get into service, but I iind I am not wanted. 

"I am about to return home; but before going, I was anxious to pay my 
respects to you, and express my wishes for your personal welfare and suc- 
cess in quelling this Rebellion. And I want to say to you a word more. 

"I was at Bull Run the other day, Mr. President, and it is no vanity in 
me to say, I am a darned sight better general than you had on the field." 

This was said, not in the tone of a braggart, but of a man who knew 
what he was talking about. Hooker did not return to Cahfornia, but in a 
few weeks Captain Hooker received from the President a commission as 
Brigadier-General Hooker. 



KEPT HIS COUEAGE UP. 

The President, like old King Saul, when his term was about to expire, 
was in a quandary concerning a further lease of the Presidential office. He 
consulted again the "prophetess" of Georgetown, immortalized by his pat- 
ronage. 

Sh© retired to an inner chamber, and, after raising and consulting more 
than a dozen of distinguished spirits from Hades, she returned to the recep- 



246 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

tion-parlor, where the chief magistrate awaited her, and declared that Gen- 
eral Grant would capture Richmond, and that "Honest Old Abe" would be 
next President. 

She, however, as the report goes, tola him to beware of Chase. 



A FORTUNE-TELLER'S PREDICTION. 

Lincoln liad been born and reared among people who were believers in 
premonitions and supernatural appearances all his life, and he once declared 
to his friends that he was "from boyhood superstitious." 

He at one time said to Judge Arnold that "the near approach of the 
important events of his life were indicated by a presentiment or a strange 
dream, or in some other mysterious way it was impressed upon him that 
something important was to occur." This was earher than 1850. 

It is said that on his second visit to New Orleans, Lincoln and his com- 
panion, John Hanks, visited an old fortune-teller — a voodoo negress. Tra- 
dition says that "during the interview she became very much excited, and 
after various predictions, exclaimed: 'You will be President, and all the 
negroes will be free.' " 

That the old voodoo negress should have foretold that the visitor would 
be President is not at all incredible. She doubtless told this to many aspiring 
lads, but Lincoln, so it is avowed, took the prophecy seriously. 



TOO MUCH POWDER. 



So great was Lincoln's anxiety for the success of the Union arms th&t he 
considered no labor on his part too arduous, and spent much of his time in 
looking after even the small details. 

Admiral Dahlgren was sent for one morning by the President, who said : 
"Well, captain, here's a letter about some new powder." 

After reading the letter he showed the sample of powder, and remarked 
that he had burned some of it, and did not believe it was a good article — 
there was too much residuum. 

"I will show you," he said; and getting a small piece of paper, placed 
thereupon some of the powder, then went to the fire and with the tongs 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



247 



picked up a coal, which he blew, clapped it on the powder, and after the 
resulting explosion, added, "You see there is too much left there." 



SLEEP STANDING UP. 



McClellan was a thorn in Lincoln's side — "always up in the air," as the 
President put it — and yet he hesitated to remove him. "The Young Napo- 
leon" was a good organizer, but no fighter. Lincoln sent him every- 
thing necessary in the way of men, am- 
munition, artillery and equipments, but he 
was forever unready. 

Instead of making a forward move- 
ment at the time expected, he would notify 
the President that he must have more men. 
These were given him as rapidly as possible, 
and then would come a demand for more 
horses, more this and that, usually winding 
up with a demand for still "more men." 

Lincoln bore it all in patience for a 
long time, but one day, when he had re- 
ceived another request for more men, he 
made a vigorous protest. 

"If I gave McClellan all the men he asks 
for," said the President, "they couldn't find 
room to lie down. They'd have to sleep stand- 
ing up." 



^'^ 




SHOiriD HAVE FOUGHT ANOTHER BATTLE. 



General Meade, after the great victory at Gettysburg, was again fac^ 
to face with General Lee shortly afterwards at Williamsport, and even the 
former's warmest friends agree that he might have won in another battle, 
but he took no action. He was not a "pushing" man like Grant. It was this 
negligence on the part of Meade that lost him the rank of Licutenant-Gen- 
eral, conferred upon General Sheridan. 

A friend of Meade's, speaking to President Lincoln and intimating that 



248 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

Meade should have, after that battle, been made Commander-in-Chief of the 
Union Annies, received this reply from Lincoln : 

"Now, don't misunderstand me about General Meade. I am profoundly 
grateful down to the bottom of my boots for what he did at Gettysburg, but 
I think that if I had been General Meade I would have fought another 
battle." 



LINCOLN UPBRAIDED LAMON. 

In one of his reminiscences of Lincoln, Ward Lamon tells how keenly the 
President-elect always regretted the "sneaking in act" when he made the 
celebrated "midnight ride," which he took under protest, and landed him in 
Washington known to but a few. Lamon says : 

"The President was convinced that he committed a grave mistake in 
listening to the solicitations of a 'professional spy' and of friends too easily 
alarmed, and frequently upbraided me for having aided him to degrade 
himself at the very moment in all his life when his behavior should have 
exhibited the utmost dignity and composure. 

"Neither he nor the country generally then understood the true facts 
concerning the dangers to his life. It is now an acknowledged fact that there 
never was a moment from the day he crossed the Maryland line, up to the 
time of his assassination, that he was not in danger of death by violence, 
and that his life was spared until the night of the 14th of April, 1865, only 
through the ceaseless and watchful care of the guards thrown around him." 



MARKED OUT A FEW WORDS. 

President Lincoln was calm and unmoved when England and France 
were blustering and threatening war. At Lincoln's instance Secretary of 
State Seward notified the English Cabinet and the French Emperor that as 
ours was merely a family quarrel of a strictly private and confidential nature, 
there was no call for meddling; also that they would have a war on their 
hands in a very few minutes if they didn't keep their hands ofif. 

Many of Seward's notes were couched in decidedly peppery terms, some 
expressions being so tart that President Lincoln ran his pen through them. 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



249 



LINCOIN SILENCES SEWAED. 



General Farnsworth told the writer nearly twenty years ago that, being 
in the War Office one day, Secretary Stanton told him that at the last 
Cabinet meeting he had learned a lesson he should never forget, and thought 
he had obtained an insight into Mr. Lincoln's wonderful power over the 
masses. The Secretary said a Cabinet meeting was called to consider our 
relations with England in 
regard to the Mason-Slidell 
affair. One after another of 
the Cabinet presented his 
views, and Mr. Seward read 
an elaborate diplomatic dis- 
patch, which he had pre- 
pared. 

Finally Mr. Lincoln read 
what he termed "a few brief 
remarks upon the subject," 
and asked the opinions of his 
auditors. They unanimously 
agreed that our side of the 
question needed no more 
argument than was con- 
tained in the President's 
"few brief remarks." 

Mr. Seward said he would 
be glad to adopt the remarks, 
and, giving them more of the phraseology usual in diplomatic circles, send 
them to Lord Palmerston, the British premier. 

"Then," said Secretary Stanton, "came the demonstration. The Presi- 
dent, half wheeling in his seat, threw one leg over the chair-arm, and, 
holding the letter in his hand, said, 'Seward, do you suppose Palmerston 
will understand our position from that letter, just as it is?' 

" 'Certainly, Mr. President.' 

" 'Do you suppose the London Times will?' 

" 'Certainly.' 

" 'Do you suppose the average Englishman of afTairs will?' 

" 'Certainly; it cannot be mistaken in England.' 




2SO "ABE" LIN-COLN'S 

" 'Do you suppose that a hackman out on his box (pointing to the street) 
will understand it?' 

" 'Very readily, Mr. President.' 

" 'Very well, Seward, I guess we'll let her slide just as she is.' 

"And the letter did 'slide,' and settled the whole business in a manner 
that was effective." 



BROUGHT THE HUSBAND UP. 

One morning President Lincoln asked Major Eckert, on duty at the 
White House, "Who is that woman crying out in the hall? What is the 
matter with her?" 

Eckert said it was a woman who had come a long distance expecting to 
go down to the army to see her husband. An order had gone out a short 
time before to allow no women in the army, except in special cases. 

Mr. Lincoln sat moodily for a moment after hearing this story, and sud- 
denly looking up, said, "Let's send her down. You write the order. Major." 

Major Eckert hesitated a moment, and replied, "Would it not be better 
for Colonel Hardie to write the order?" 

"Yes," said Mr. Lincoln, "that is better; let Hardie write it." 

The major went out, and soon returned, saying, "Mr. President, would 
it not be better in this case to let the woman's husband come to Wash- 
ington?" 

Mr. Lincoln's face lighted up with pleasure. "Yes, yes," was the Presi- 
dent's answer in a relieved tone; "that's the best way; bring him up." 

The order was written, and the man was sent to Washington. 



NO WAE WITHOUT BLOOD-LETTING. 

"You can't carry on war without blood-letting," said Lincoln one day. 

The President, although almost feminine in his kind-heartedness", knew 
not only this, but also that large bodies of soldiers in camp were at the mercy 
of diseases of every sort, the result being a heavy casualty list. 

Of the (estimated) half-million men of the Union armies who gave up 
their lives in the War of the Rebellion — 1861-65 — fully seventy-five per cent 



YARNS AND STORIES 



251 



died of disease. The soldiers killed upon the field of battle constituted a 
comparatively small proportion of the casualties. 



LINCOLN'S TWO DIFFICULTIES. 

London "Punch" caricatured President Lincoln in every possible way, 
holding him and the Union cause up to the ridicule of the world so far as 
it could. On August 23rd, 1862, its cartoon entitled "Lincoln's Two Difii- 
culties" had the text underneath: LINCOLN: "What? No money! No 

men !" "Punch" desired to 
create the impression that 
the Washington Government 
was in a bad v.ay, lacking 
both money and men for the 
purpose of putting down the 
Rebellion; that the L'nited 
States Treasury v.as bank- 
rupt, and the people of the 
North so devoid of patriot- 
ism that they would not send 
men for the army to assist in 
destroying the Confederacy. 
Tlie truth is, that when this 
cartoon was printed the 
North had five hundred thou- 
sand men in the field, and, 
before the W'av closed, had 
provided fully two million and 
a half troops. The report of 
the Secretary of the Treasury 
which showed the financial affairs and situation of the United States up to 
July, 1862. The receipts of the National Government for the year ending June 
30th, 1862, were ,'^10,000,000 in excess of the expenditures, although the War 
was costing the country $2,000,000 per day; the credit of the United States 
was good, and business matters were in a satisfactory state. The Navy, 
by August 23rd, 1862, had received eighteen thousand additional men, 
and was in fine shape; the people of the North stood ready to supply any- 




252 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

thing the Government needed, so that, all things taken together.the "Punch" 
-rartoon was not exactly true, as the facts and figures abundantly proved. 



WHITE ELEPHANT ON HIS HANDS. 

An old and intimate friend from Springfield called on President Lincoln 
and found him much depressed. 

The President was reclining on a sofa, but rising suddenly he said to 
his friend : 

"You know better than any man living that from my boyhood up my 
ambition was to be President. I am President of one part of this divided 
country at least; but look at me! Oh, I wish I had never been born! 

"I've a white elephant on my hands — one hard to manage. With a 
fire in my front and rear to contend with, the jealousies of the military com- 
manders, and not receiving that cordial co-operative support from Congress 
that could reasonably be expected with an active and formidable enemy in 
the field threatening the very life-blood of the Government, my position is 
anything but a bed of roses." 



WHEN LINCOLN AND GRANT CLASHED. 

Ward Lamon, one of President Lincoln's law partners, and his most 
intimate friend in W'ashington, has this to relate: 

"I am not aware that there was ever a serious discord or misunderstand- 
ing between Mr. Lincoln and General Grant, except on a single occasion. 
From the commencement of the struggle, Lincoln's policy was to break the 
backbone of the Confederacy by depriving it of its principal means of sub- 
sistence. 

"Cotton was its vital aliment; deprive it of this, and the rebellion must 
necessarily collapse. The Hon. Elihu E. Washburne from the outset was 
opposed to any contraband traffic with the Confederates. 

"Lincoln had given permits and passes through the lines to two persons 
—Mr. Joseph Mattox of Maryland and General Singleton of Illinois — to 
enable them to bring cotton and other Southern products from Virginia. 
Washburne heard of it, called immediately on Mr. Lincoln, and, after remon- 



YARNS AND STORIES. 253 

strating with him on the impropriety of such a demarche, threatened to have 
General Grant countermand the permits if they were not revoked. 

"Naturally, both became excited. Lincoln declared that he did not 
believe General Grant v.ould take upon himself the responsibility of such an 
act. 'I will show you, sir; I will show you whether Grant will do it or not,' 
responded Mr. Washburne, as he abruptly withdrew. 

"By the next boat, subsequent to this interview, the Congressman left 
Washington for the headquarters of General Grant. He returned shortly 
afterward to the city, and so likewise did Mattox and Singleton. Grant had 
countermanded the permits. 

"Under all tlic circumstances, it was, naturally, a source of exultation to 
Mr. W'ashijurne and his friends, and of corresponding surprise and mortifica- 
tion to the President. The latter, however, said nothing further than this: 

" 'I wonder when General Grant changed his mind on this subject? He 
was the first man, after the commencement of this War, to grant a permit 
for the passage of cotton through the liifes, and that to his own father.' 

"The President, however, never showed any resentment toward General 
Grant. 

"In referring afterwards to the subject, the President said : "It made me 
feel my insignificance keenly at the moment; but if my friends Washburne, 
Henry Wilson and others derive pleasure from so unworthy a victory over 
me, I leave them to its full enjoyment." 

"This ripple on the otherwise unrufiled current of their intercourse did 
not disturb the personal relations betw-een Lincoln and Grant: but there was 
little cordiality between the President and Messrs. Washburne and Wilson 
afterwards." 



WON JAMES GOEDON BENNETT'S SUPPORT. 

The story as to how President Lincoln won the support of James Gor- 
don Bennett, Sr., founder of the New York Herald, is a most interesting 
one. It was one of Lincoln's shrew^dest political acts, and was brought about 
by the tender, in an autograph letter, of the French Mission to Bennett. 

The New York Times was the only paper in the metropolis which sup- 
ported him heartily, and President Lincoln knew how important it was to 
have the support of the Herald. He therefore, according to the way Colonel 



■2S4- "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

McClure tells it, carefully studied how to bring its editor into close touch 
with himself. 

The outlook for Lincoln's re-election was not promising. Bennett had 
strongly advocated the nomination of General McClellan by the Democrats, 
and that was ominous of hostility to Lincoln; and when McClellan was nom- 
inated he was accepted on all sides as a most formidable candidate. 

It was in this emergency that Lincoln's political sagacity served him 
sufinciently to win the Herald to his cause, and it was done by the confidential 
tender of the French Mission. Bennett did not break over to Lincoln at 
once, but he went by gradual approaches. 

His first step was to declare in favor of an entirely new candidate, which 
was an utter impossibility. He opened a "leader" in the Herald on the sub- 
ject in this way: "Lincoln has proved a failure; McClellan has proved a 
failure; Fremont has proved a failure; let us have a new candidate." 

Lincoln, McClellan and Fremont were then all in the field as nominated 
candidates, and the Fremont defection was a serious threat to Lincoln. Of 
course, neither Lincoln nor McClellan declined, and the Herald, faihng to 
get the new man it knew to be an impossibility, squarely advocated Lincoln's 
re-election. 

Without consulting any one, and without any public announcement 
whatever, Lincoln wrote to Bennett, asking him to accept the mission to 
France. The ofTer was declined. Bennett valued the oiler very much more 
than the ofBce, and from that day until the day of the President's death he 
v.as one of Lincoln's most appreciative friends and hearty supporters on his 
own independent line. 



STOOD BY THE "SILENT MAN." 

Once, in reply to a delegation, which visited the White House, the mem- 
bers of which were unusually vociferous in their demands that the Silent 
Man (as General Grant was called) should be relieved from duty, the Presi- 
dent remarked: 

"What I want and what the people want is generals who will fight battles 
and win victories. 

"Grant has done this, and I propose to stand by him." 

This declaration found its way into the newspapers, and Lincoln was 



YARNS AND STORTES. 



255 



upheld by the people of the North, who, also, wanted "generals who will 
fight battles and win victories." 



A VERY BRAINY NUBBIN. 

President Lincoln and Secretary of State Seward met Alexander H. 
Stephens, Vice-President of the Confederacy, on February 2d, 1865, on the 




River Queen, at Fortress ^lonroe. Stephens was enveloped in overcoats 
and shawls, and had the appearance of a fair-sized man. He began to take 
off one wrapping after another, until the small, shriveled old man stood 
before them. 

Lincoln quietly said to Seward: "This is the largest shucking for so 
small a nubbin that I ever saw." 

President Lincoln had a friendly conference, but presented his ultimatum 



256 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

— that the one and only condition of peace was that Confederates "must 
cease their resistance." 



SENT TO HIS "FEIENDS." 

During the Civil War, Clement L. Vallandigham, of Ohio, had shown 
himself, in the National House of Representatives and elsewhere, one of the 
bitterest and most outspoken of all the men of that class which insisted that 
"the war was a failure." He declared that it was the design of "those in power 
to establish a despotism," and that they had "no intention of restoring the 
Union." He denounced the conscription which had been ordered, and 
declared that men who submitted to be drafted into the army were "unworthy 
to be called free men." He spoke of the President as "King Lincoln." 

Such utterances at this time, when the Government was exerting itself to 
the utmost to recruit the armies, were dangerous, and Vallandigham was 
arrested, tried by court-martial at Cincinnati, and sentenced to be placed in 
confinement during the war. 

General Burnside, in command at Cincinnati, approved the sentence, 
and ordered that he be sent to Fort Warren, in Boston Harbor; but the 
President ordered that he be sent "beyond our lines into those of his friends." 
He was therefore escorted to the Confederate lines in Tennessee, thence 
going to Richmond. He did not meet with a very cordial reception there, 
and finally sought refuge in Canada. 

Vallandigham died in a most peculiar way some years after the close of 
the War, and it was thought by many that his death was the result of pre- 
meditation upon his part. 



GO DOWN WITH COLORS FLYING. 

Tn August, 1864, the President called for five hundred thousand more 
men. The country was much depressed. The Confederates had, in com- 
paratively small force, only a short time before, been to the very gates of 
Washington, and returned almost unharmed. 

The Presidential election was impending. Many thought another call 
for men at such a time would injure, if not destroy, Mr. Lincoln's chances 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



257 



for re-election. A friend said as much to him one day, after the President 
had told him of his purpose to make such a call. 

"As to my re-election," replied Mr. Lincoln, "it matters not. We must 
have the men. If I go down, I intend to go, like the Cumberland, with my 
colors flying!" 



ALI WEEE TRAGEDIES. 



The cartoon reproduced below was published in "Harper's Weekly" of 
January 31st, 1863, the explanatory text, underneath, reading in this way: 

MANAGER LINCOLN : "Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to say that the 
tragedy entitled 'The Army of the Potomac' has been withdrawn on account 
of quarrels among the leading performers, and I have substituted three new 
and striking farces, or burlesques, one, entitled 'The Repulse of Vicksburg,' 
by the well-known favorite, 
E. M. Stanton, Esq., and the 
others, 'The Loss of the Har- 
riet Lane,' and 'The Exploits 
of the Alabama' — a very 
sweet thing in farces, I assure 
you — by the veteran com- 
poser, Gideon Welles. (Un- 
bounded applause by the 
Copperheads)." 

In July, after this car- 
toon appeared, the Army 
of the Potomac defeated 
Lee at Gettysburg, and 
sounded the death-knell of 
the Confederacy; General 
Hooker, with his corps from 
this Army opened the Ten- 
nessee River, thus affording 
some relief to the Union troops in Chattanooga; Hooker's men also cap- 
tured Lookout Mountain, and assisted in taking Missionary Ridge. 

General Grant converted the farce "The Repulse of Vicksburg" into a 
tragedy for the Copperheads, taking that stronghold on July 4th, and Cap- 




258 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

tain Winslow, with the Union man-of-war Kearsarge, meeting the Con- 
federate privateer Alabama, ofi the coast of France, near Cherbourg, fought 
the famous ship to a finish and sunk her. Thus the tragedy of "The Army 
of the Potomac" was given after all, and Playwright Stanton and Composer 
Welles were vindicated, their compositions having been received by the 
public with great favor. 



"HE'S THE BEST OF US." 

Secretary of State Seward did not appreciate President Lincoln's ability 
until he had been associated with him for quite a time, but he was awakened 
to a full realization of the greatness of the Chief Executive "all of a sudden." 

Having submitted "Some Thoughts for the President's Consideration" — 
a lengthy paper intended as an outline of the policy, both domestic and 
foreign, the Administration should pursue — he was not more surprised at 
the magnanimity and kindness of President Lincoln's reply than the thor- 
ough mastery of the subject displayed by the President. 

A few months later, when the Secretary had begun to understand Mr. 
Lincoln, he was quick and generous to acknowledge his power. 

"Executive force and vigor are rare qualities," he wrote to Mrs. Seward. 
"The President is the best of us." 



HOW UNCOLN "COMPOSED." 

Superintendent Chandler, of the Telegraph Ofifice in the War Depart- 
ment, once told how President Lincoln wrote telegrams. Said he: 

"Mr. Lincoln frequently wrote telegrams in my office. His method of 
composition was slow and laborious. It was evident that he thought out 
what he was going to say before he touched his pen to the paper. He 
would sit looking out of the window, his left elbow on the table, his hand 
scratching his temple, his lips moving, and frequently he spoke the sentence 
aloud or in a half whisper. 

"After he was satisfied that he had the proper expression, he would 
write it out. If one examines the originals of Mr. Lincoln's telegrams and 
letters, he will find very few erasures and very little interlining. This was 
because he had them definitely in his mind before writing them. 



YARNS AND STORIES. 259 

"In this he was the exact opposite of Mr. Stanton, who wrote with 
feverish haste, often scratching out words, and interUning frequently. Some- 
times he would seize a sheet which he had filled, and impatiently tear it 
into pieces." 



HAMLIN MIGHT DO IT. 

Several United States Senators urged President Lincoln to muster 
Southern slaves into the Union Army. Lincoln replied : 

"Gentlemen, I have put thousands of muskets into the hands of loyal 
citizens of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Western North Carolina. They have 
said they could defend themselves, if they had guns. I have given them 
the guns. Now, these men do not believe in mustering in the negro. If I 
do it, these thousands of muskets will be turned against us. We should 
lose more than we should gain." 

Being still further urged. President Lincoln gave them this answer : 

"Gentlemen," he said, 'T can't do it. I can't see it as you do. You 
may be right, and I may be wrong; but I'll tell you what I can do; I can 
resign in favor of Mr. Hamlin. Perhaps Mr. Hamlin could do it." 

The matter ended there, for the time being. 



THE GUN SHOT BETTER. 

The President took a lively interest in all new firearm improvements and 
inventions, and it sometimes happened that, when an inventor could get 
nobody else in the Government to listen to him, the President would per- 
sonally test his gun. A former clerk in the Navy Department tells an inci- 
dent illustrative. 

He had stayed late one night at his desk, when he heard some one 
striding up and down the hall muttering: "I do wonder if they have gone 
already and left the building all alone." Looking out, the clerk was surprised 
to see the President. 

"Good evening," said Mr. Lincoln. "I was just looking for that man 
who goes shooting with me sometimes." 

The clerk knew Mr. Lincoln referred to a certain messenger of the Ord- 
nance Department who had been accustomed to going with him to test 



26o "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

weapons, but as this man had gone home, the clerk offered his services. 
Together they went to the lawn south of the White House, where Mr. 
Lincoln fixed up a target cut from a sheet of white Congressional note- 
paper. 

"Then pacing off a distance of about eighty or a hundred feet," writes the 
clerk, "he raised the rifle to a level, took a quick aim, and drove the round 
of seven shots in quick succession, the bullets shooting all around the target 
like a Catling gun and one striking near the center. 

" 'I believe I can make this gun shoot better,' said Mr. Lincoln, after 
we had looked at the result of the first fire. With this he took from his vest 
pocket a small wooden sight which he had whittled from a pine stick, and 
adjusted it over the sight of the carbine. He then shot two rounds, and of 
the fourteen bullets nearly a dozen hit the paper!" 



LENIENT WITH McCLELLAN. 

General McClellan, aside from his lack of aggressiveness, fretted the 
President greatly with his complaints about military matters, his obtrusive 
criticism regarding political matters, and especially at his insulting declara- 
tion to the Secretary of War, dated June 28th, 1862, just after his retreat to 
the James River. 

General Halleck was made Commander-in-Chief of the Union forces in 
July, 1862, and September ist McClellan was called to Washington. The 
day before he had written his wife that "as a matter of self-respect, I cannot 
go there." President Lincoln and General Halleck called at McClellan's 
house, and the President said ; "As a favor to me, I wish you would take 
command of the fortifications of Washington and all the troops for the 
defense of the capital." 

Lincoln thought highly of McClellan's ability as an organizer and his 
strength in defense, yet any other President would have had him court- 
martialed for using this language, which appeared in McClellan's letter of 
June 28th : 

"If I save this array now, I tell you plainly that I owe no thanks to you or 
to any other person in Washington. You have done your best to sacrifice 
this army." 

This letter, although addressed to the Secretary of War, distinctly 






. _. . ., _ 1% 



a^.tli^ 




\,' 



.j.,-i^.ji^ Cj. MEADE iiiiylii liaxc been the buccc^bui ui oeiuiai Halleck as Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the Union forces had he followed up his victory at Gettysburg and 
crushed General Lee, as he might have done. Grant might never have reached the grade 
of lieutenant-general had Meade possessed Grant's fighting qualities. "Meade should have 
fought another battle," was Lincoln's answer to demands that Meade be placed at the 
head of the Union Armies. Meade met Lee at Williamsport shortly after Gettysburg, but 
did not attack. He was a native of Pennsylvania and died in 1872, (261) 




JOSEPH HOOKER possessed the absolute confidence of President Lincoln, who put 
him in command of the Army of the Potomac, relieving Burnside, who had received a 
frightful beating at Fredericksburg. Lincoln, knowing "Fighting Joe's" impetuous gal- 
lantry, wrote him to "beware of rashness, beware of rashness," but Hooker, in spite of 
this, threw himself upon Lee at Chancellorsville, May 2d, 1863, and lost nearly eighteen 
thousand men. This almost broke Lincoln's heart, and soon after Hooker resigned. 
General Hooker was born in Massachusetts in 1814, and died in 1879. (262) 



YARNS AND STORIES. 263 

embraced the President in the grave charge of conspiracy to defeat McClel- 
lan's army and sacrifice thousands of the hves of his soldiers. 



DIDN'T WANT A MILITARY REPUTATION. 

Lincohi was averse to being put up as a mihtary hero. 

,When General Cass was a candidate for the Presidency his friends 
sought to endow him with a military reputation. 

Lincoln, at that time a representative in Congress, delivered a speech 
before the House, which, in its allusion to Air. Cass, was exquisitely sar- 
castic and irresistibly humorous : 

"By the way, Mr. Speaker," said Lincoln, "do you know I am a mili- 
tary hero? 

''Yes, sir, in the days of the Black Hawk War, I fought, bled, and came 
away. 

"Speaking of General Cass's career reminds me of my own. 

"I was not at Stillman's defeat, but I was about as near it as Cass to 
Hull's surrender; and like him I saw the place very soon afterwards. 

"It is quite certain I did not break my sword, for I had none to break, 
but I bent my musket pretty badly on one occasion. * * * 

"If General Cass went in advance of me picking whortleberries, I guess 
I surpassed him in charging upon the wild onion. 

"If he saw any live, fighting Indians, it was more than I did, but I had a 
good many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes, and although I never 
fainted from loss of blood, I can truly say that I w^as often very hungry." 

Lincoln concluded by saying that if he ever turned Democrat and should 
run for the Presidency, lie hoped they would not make fun of him by 
attempting to make him a military hero. 



"SURRENDER NO SLAVE." 

About March, 1862, General Benjamin F. Butler, in command at Fort- 
ress Monroe, advised President Lincoln that he had determined to regard 
all slaves coming into his camps as contraband of war, and to employ 
their labor under fair compensation, and Secretary of War Stanton replied to 
him, in behalf of the President, approving his course, and saying, "You are 



264 - "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

not to interfere between master and slave on the one hand, nor surrender 
slaves who may come within your lines." 

This v,as a significant milestone of progress to the great end that was 
thereafter to be reached. 



CONSCRIPTING DEAD MEN. 

Mr. Lincoln being found fault with for making another "call," said that 
if the country required it, he would continue to do so until the matter stood 
as described by a Western provost marshal, who says: 

"I listened a short time since to a butternut-clad individual, who suc- 
ceeded in making good his escape, expatiate most eloquently on the rigid- 
ness with which the conscription was enforced south of the Tennessee River. 
His response to a question propounded by a citizen ran somewhat in this 
wise : 

■' 'Do they conscript close over the river?' 

" 'Stranger, I should think they did ! They take every man who hasn't 
been dead more than two days !' 

"If this is correct, the Confederacy has at least a ghost of a chance left." 

And of another, a Methodist minister in Kansas, living on a small salary, 
who was greatly troubled to get his quarterly instalment. He at last told 
the non-paying trustees that he must have his money, as he was suffering 
for the necessaries of life. 

"Money!" replied the trustees; "yon preach for money? We thought 
you preached for the good of souls !" 

"Souls!" responded the reverend: "I can't eat souls; and if I could it 
would take a thousand such as yours to make a meal I" 

"That soul is the point, sir," said the President. 



IINCOLN'S REJECTED MANUSCRIPT. 

On February 5th, 1865, President Lincoln formulated a message to 
Congress, proposing the payment of $400,000,000 to the South as compensa- 
tion for slaves lost by emancipation, and submitted it to his Cabinet, only to 
be unanimously rejected. 

Lincoln sadly accepted the decision, and fded away the manuscript mes- 
sage, together u'itli this indorsement thereon, to which his signature was 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



26$ 



added: "February 5, 1865. To-day these papers, which explain themselves, 
were drawn up and submitted to the Cabinet unanimously disapproved 
by them." 

When the proposed message was disapproved, Lincoln soberly asked: 
"How long will the war last?" 

To this none could make answer, and he added : "We are spending now, 
in carrying on the war, $3,000,000 a day, which will amount to all this money, 
besides all the lives." 



LINCOLN AS A STORY WRITER. 



In his youth, "Mr. Lincoln once got an idea for a thrilling, romantic 
story. One day, in Springfield, he was sitting with his feet on the window 
sill, chatting with an acquaintance, when he suddenly changed the drift of 
the conversation by saying: "Did you ever write out a story in your mind? 
1 did when I was a little 
codger. One day a w'agon 
with a lady and two girls 
and a man broke down 
near us, and while they 
were fixing up, they 
cooked in our kitchen. 
The woman had books 
and read us stories, and 
they were the first I had 
ever heard. I took a great 
fancy to one of the girls; 
and when they were gone 
I thought of her a great 
deal, and one day when I 
was sitting out in the sun 
bv the house I wrote out 
a story in my mind. I 
thought I took my father's 
horse and followed the wagon, and finally I found it, and they were sur- 
prised to see me. I talked with the girl, and persuaded her to elope with 




266 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

me; and that night I put her on my horse, and we started off across the 
prairie. After several hours we came to a camp; and when we rode up we 
found it was the one we had left a few hours before, and went in. The next 
night we tried again, and the same thing happened — the horse caine back to 
the same place; and then we concluded that we ought not to elope. I 
stayed until I had persuaded her father to give her to me. I always meant to 
write that story out and publish it, and I began once; but I concluded that it 
was not much of a story. But I think that was the beginning of love 
with me." 



LINCOLN'S IDEAS ON CROSSING A RIVER WHEN HE GOT TO IT. 

Lincoln's reply to a Springfield (Illinois) clergyman, who asked him 
what was to be his policy on the slavery question was most apt: 

"Well, your question is rather a cool one. but I will answer it by telling 
you a story : 

"You know Father B., the old Methodist preacher? and you know Fox 
River and its freshets? 

"Well, once in the presence of Father B,, a young Methodist was worry- 
ing about Fox River, and expressing fears that he should be prevented from 
fulfilling some of his appointments by a freshet in the river. 

"Father B. checked him in his gravest manner. Said he : 

" 'Young man, I have always made it a rule in my life QOt to cross Fox 
River till I get to it.' 

"And," said the President, "I am not going to worry myself over the 
slavery question till I get to it." 

A few days afterward a Methodist minister called on the President, and 
on being presented to him, said, simply: 

"Mr. President, I have come to tell you that I think we have got to Fox 
River !" 

Lincoln thanked the clergyrnan, and laughed heartily. 



PRESIDENT NOMINATED FIRST. 

The day of Lincoln's second nomination for the Presidency he forgot 
all about the Republican National Convention, sitting at Baltimore, and 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



267 



wandered over to the War Department. While there, a telegram came 
announcing the nomination of Johnson as Vice-President. 

"What," said Lincoln to the operator, "do they nominate a Vice-Presi- 
dent before they do a President?" 

"Why," replied the astonished official, "have you not heard of your 
own nomination? It was sent to the AVhite House two hours ago." 

"It is all right," replied the President: "I shall probably find it on my 
return." 



•THEM GILLITEENS." 



The illustrated newspapers of the United .States and England had a good 
deal of fun, not only with President Lincoln, but the tatter's Cabinet officers 
and military commanders as well. It was said by these funny publications 
that the President had set up a guillotine in his "back-yard," where all those 

who offended were be- 
headed with both neatness 
and despatch. "Harper's 
Weekly" of January 3rd, 
1863, contained a cartoon 
labeled "Those Guillotines; 
a Little Incident at the 
White Plouse," the person- 
ages figuring in the "inci- 
dent" being Secretary of 
War Stanton and a Union 
general who had been un- 
fortunate enough to lose a 
battle to the Confederates. 
Beneath the cartoon was 
the following dialogue: 

SERVANT: "If ye 
plase, sir, them Gilliteens 
has arrove." MR. LINCOLN : "All right, Michael. Now, gentlemen, will 
you be kind enough to step out in the back-yard?" 

The hair and whiskers of Secretary of War Stanton are ruffled and awry, 




268 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

and his features are not calm and undisturbed, indicating that he has an idea 
of what's the matter in that back-yard; the countenance of the officer in the 
rear of the Secretary of War wears rather an anxious, or worried, look, and 
his hair isn't combed smoothly, either. 

President Lincoln's frequent changes among army commanders — before 
he found Grant, Sherman and Sheridan — afforded an opportunity the carica- 
turists did not neglect, and some very clever cartoons were the consequence. 



"CONSIDER THE SYMPATHY OF LINCOLN." 

Consider the sympathy of Abraham Lincoln. Do you know the story 
of .William Scott, private? He was a boy from a Vermont farm. 

There had been a long march, and the night succeeding it he had stood 
on picket. The next day there had been another long march, and that night 
William Scott had volunteered to stand guard in the place of a sick comrade 
who had been drawn for the duty. 

It was too much for William Scott. He was too tired. He had been 
found sleeping on his beat. 

The army was at Chain Bridge. It was in a dangerous neighborhood. 
Discipline must be kept. 

William Scott was apprehended, tried by court-martial, sentenced to 
be shot. News of the case was carried to Lincoln. William Scott was a 
prisoner in his tent, expecting to be shot next day. 

But the flaps of his tent were parted, and Lincoln stood before him. 
Scott said : 

"The President was the kindest man I had ever seen; I knew him at once 
by a Lincoln medal I had long worn. 

"I was scared at first, for 1 had never before talked with a great man; 
but Mr. Lincoln was so easy with me, so gentle, that I soon forgot my fright. 

"Pie asked me all about the people at home, the neighbors, the farm, and 
where I went to school, and who my schoolmates were. Then he asked 
me about mother and how she looked; and I was glad I could take her 
photograph from my bosom and show it to him. 

"He said how thankful I ought to be that my mother still lived, and 
how, if he were in my place, he would try to make her a proud mother, and 
never cause her a sorrow or a tear. 

"I cannot remember it all, but every word was so kind. ^ j 



YARNS AXD STORIES. 269 

"He had said nothinq^ yet about that dreadful next morning; 1 thought 
it must be tiiat he was so kind-hearted that he didn't hke to speak of it. 

"But why did he say so much about my mother, and my not causing 
her a sorrow or a tear, when I knew that I must die tlie next morning? 

"But I supposed that was something that would have to go unex- 
plained: and so I determined to brace up and tell him that I did not feel a 
bit guilty, and ask him wouldn't he fix it so that the firing party would not 
be from our regiment. 

"That was going to be the hardest of ail — to die by the hands of my 
comrades. 

"Just as I was going to ask him this favor, he stood up, and he says 
to me : 

" 'My boy, stand up here and look me in the face.' 

"I did as he bade me. 

" 'My boy,' he said, 'you are not going to be shot to-morrow. I believe 
you when you tell me that you could not keep awake. 

" 'I am going to trust you, and send you back to your regiment. 

" 'But I have been put to a good deal of trouble on your account. 

" 'I have had to come up here from Washington when I have got a great 
deal to do; and what I want to know is, how are you going to pay my bill?" 

"There was a big lump in my throat; I could scarcely speak. I had 
expected to die, you see, and had kind of got used to thinking that way. 

"To have it all changed in a minute ! But I got it crowded down, and 
managed to say : 

" 'I am grateful, Mr. Lincoln! I hope 1 am as grateful as ever a man 
can be to you for saving my life. 

" 'But it conies upon me sudden and unexpected like. I didn't lay out 
for it at all; but there is some way to pay you. and I will find it after a little. 

" 'There is the bounty in the savings bank; I guess we could borrow 
some money on the mortgage of the farm.' 

"There was my pay was something, and if he would wait until pay-day I 
was sure the boys would help; so I thought we could make it up if it wasn't 
more than five or six hundred dollars. 

" 'But it is a great deal more than that,' he said. 

"Then I said I didn't just see how, but I was sure I would find some 
■^'ay — if I lived. 

"Then Mr. Lincoln put his hands on my shoulders, and looked into my 
face AS if he was sorry, and said : 



270 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

" 'My boy, my bill is a very large one. Your friends cannot pay it, nor 
your bounty, nor the farm, nor all your comrades ! 

" 'There is only one man in all the world who can pay it, and his name 
is William Scott! 

" 'If from this day William Scott does his duty, so that, if I was there 
when he comes to die, he can look me in the face as he does now, and say, 
I have kept my promise, and I have done my duty as a solcHer, then my 
debt will be paid. 

" 'Will you make that promise and try to keep it?" '' 

The promise w^as given. Thenceforward there never was such a soldier 
as William Scott. 

This is the record of the end. It was after one of the awful battles of the 
Peninsula. He was shot all to pieces. He said : 

"Boys, I shall never see another battle. I supposed this would be my 
last. I haven't much to say. 

"You all know what you can tell them at home about me. 

"I have tried to do the right thing! If any of you ever have the chance 
I wish you would tell President Lincoln thai I have never forgotten- the 
kind words he said to me at the Chain Bridge; that I have tried to be a good 
soldier and true to the flag; that I should have paid my whole debt to him 
if I had lived; and that now, when I know that I am dying, I think of his 
kind face, and thank him again, because he gave me the chance to fall Hke 
a soldier in battle, and not like a coward, by the hands of my comrades." 

.What wonder that Secretary Stanton said, as he gazed upon the tall 
form and kindly face as he lay there, smitten doSvn by the assassin's l)ullet. 
"There lies the most perfect ruler of men who ever lived." 



SAVED A LIFE. 



One day during the Black Hawk War a poor o!d Indian came into the 
camp with a paper of safe conduct from General Lewis Cass in his posses- 
sion. The members of Lincoln's company were greatly exasperated by late 
Indian barbarities, among them the horrible murder of a number of women 
and children, and were about to kill him; they said the safe-conduct paper 
was a forgery, and approached the old savage with muskets cocked to shoot 
him. 

Lincoln rushed fonvard, struck up the weapons with his hands, and 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



271 



standing in front of the victim, declared to the Indian that he should not be 
killed. It was with ;;reat difficulty that the men could be kept from their 
purpose, but the courage and firmness of Lincoln thwarted them. 

Lincoln was physically one of the bravest of men, as his company 
discovered. 



LINCOLN PLAYED BALL. 

Frank P. Blair, of Chicago, tells an incident, showing Mr. Lincoln's love 
for children and how thoroughly he entered into all of their sports: 

"During the war my grandfather, Francis P. Blair, Sr., lived at Silver 
Springs, north of Washington, seven miles from the White House. It was 
a magnificent place of four or five hundred acres, with an extensive lawn 
in the rear of the house. The grandchildren gathered there frequently. 
There were eight or ten of 
us, our ages ranging from 
eight to twelve years. Al- 
though I was but seven or 
eight years of age, Mr. Lin- 
coln's visits were of such 
importance to us boys as to 
leave a clear impression on 
my memory. He drove out 
to the place quite fre- 
quently. We boys, for 
hours at a time, played 

'town ball' on the vast lawn, and Mr. Lincoln would join ardently in the 
sport. I remember vividly how he ran with the children ; how long were his 
strides, and how far his coat-tails stuck out behind, and Iiow we tried to hit 
him with ihc ball, as he ran the bases. He entered into the spirit of the play as 
completely as any of us, and we invariably hailed his coming with delight." 




HIS PASSES TO RICHMONB NOT HONORED. 



A man called upon the President and solicited a pass for Richmond. 
"Well," said the President, "I would be very happy to oblige, if mv 
passes were respected; but the fact is, sir, I have, within the past two years. 



272 "ABE- LINCOLN'S 

given passes to two hundred and fifty thousand men to go to Richmond, 
and not one has got there yet." 

The applicant quietly and respectfully withdrew on his tiptoes. 



"PUBLIC HANGMAN" FOR THE UNITED STATES. 

A certain United States Senator, who believed that every man who 
believed in secession should be hanged, asked the President what he intended 
to do when the War was over. 

"Reconstruct the machinery of this Government," quickly replied Lin- 
coln. 

"You are certainly crazy," w-as the Senator's heated response. '"You talk 
as if treason was not henceforth to be made odious, but that the traitors, cut- 
throats and authors of this War should not only go unpunished, but receive 
encouragement to repeat their treason with impunity ! They should be 
hanged higher than Haman, sir ! Yes, higher than any malefactor the world 
has ever known !" 

The President was entirely unmoved, but, after a moment's pause, put 
a question which all but drove his visitor insane. 

"Now, Senator, suppose that when this hanging arrangement has been 
agreed upon, you accept the post of Chief Executioner. If you will take the 
office, I will make you a brigadier general and Public Hangman for the 
United States. That would just about suit you, wouldn't it?" 

"I am a gentleman, sir," returned the Senator, "and I certainly thought 
you knew me better than to believe me capable of doing such dirty work. 
Y'ou arc jesting, Mr. President." 

The President w-as extremely patient, exhibiting no signs of ire, and to 
this bit of temper on the part of the Senator responded : 

"You speak of being a gentleman; yet you forget that in this free country 
all men are equal, the vagrant and the gentleman standing on the same 
ground when it comes to rights and duties, particularly in time of war. 
Therefore, being a gentleman, as you claim, and a law-abiding citizen, I trust, 
you are not exempt from doing even the dirty work at which your high 
spirit revolts." 

This was too much for the Senator, who quitted the room abruptly, and 
never again showed his face in the White House while Lincoln occupied it. 

"He won't bother me again," was the President's remark as he departed. 



YARNS 'AND STORIES. 



2/3 



FEW, BUT BOISTEROUS. 



Lincoln was a very quiet man, and went about hib business in a quiet way, 
making the least noise possible. He heartily disliked those boisterous peo- 
ple who were constantly deluging him with advice, and shouting at the tops 
of their voices whenever they appeared at the White House. "These noisy 
people create a great clam- 
or," said he one day, in con- 
versation with some personal 
friends, "and remind me, by 
the way, of a good story I 
heard out in Illinois while I 
was practicing, or trying to 
practice, some law- there. I 
will say, though, that I prac- 
ticed more law than I ever 
got paid for. 

"A fellow who lived just 
out of town, on the bank of a 
large marsh, conceived a big 
idea in the money-making 
line. He took it to a promi- 
nent merchant, and began to 
develop his plans and specifi- 
cations. 'There are at least 
ten million frogs in that 
marsh near me, an' I'll just 
arrest a couple of carloads of 
them and hand them over to 
you. You can send tliem to 
the big cities and inake lots 
of money for both of us. 
Frogs' legs are great delica- 
cies in the big towns, an' not 
very plentiful. It won't take 
me more'n two or three days 
to pick 'em. They make so much noise my family can't sleep, and by this 
deal I'll get rid of a nuisance and gather in some cash.' 




274 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

"The merchant agreed to the proposition, promised the fellow he would 
pay him well for the two carloads. Two days passed, then three, and finally 
two weeks were gone before the fellow showed up again, carrying a small 
basket. He looked weary and 'done up,' and he wasn't talkative a bit. He 
threw the basket on the counter with the remark, 'There's your frogs.' 

■' 'You haven't two carloads in that basket, have you?" intjuired the mer- 
chant. 

" 'No.' was the reply, "and there ain't no two carloads in all this blasted 
world.' 

" '1 thought you said there were at least ten millions of 'em in that marsh 
near you. according to the noise they made,' observed the merchant. 'Your 
people couldn't sleep because of 'em.' 

" 'Well,' said the fellow, 'accordin' to the noise they made, there was. 1 
thought, a hundred million of 'em. but when I had waded and swum that 
there marsh day and night fer two blessed weeks, I couldn't harvest but six. 
There's two or three left yet, an' the marsh is as noisy as it uster be. We 
haven't catched up on any of our lost sleep yet. Now, you can have these 
here six, an' I won't charge you a cent fer *em.' 

"You can see by this little yarn," remarked the President, "that these 
boisterous people make too much noise in proportion to their numbers." 



KEEP PEGGING AWAY. 

Being asked one time by an "anxious" visitor as to what he would do 
in certain contingencies — provided the rebellion was not subdi ed after three 
or four years of effort on the part of the Government : 

"Oh," replied the President, "there is no alternative but to keep 'peg- 
ging' away !" 



BEWARE OF THE TAIL. 

After the issue of the Emancipation Proclamation, Governor Morgan, of 
New York, was at the White House one day, when the President said : 

"I do not agree with those who say that slavery is dead. We are like 
whalers who have been long (jn a chase — we have at last got the harpoon into 



YARA'S AND STORIES. 



275 



the monster, but we must now look how we steer, or, with one 'flop' of his 
tail, he will yet send us all into eternity !" 



'LINCOLN'S DREAMS." 



President Lincoln was depicted as a headsman in a cartoon printed in 
"Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper," on February 14, 1863, the title of 
the picture being "Lincoln's Dreams; or. There's a Good Time Coming." 



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THE PAST^^'X 






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The cartoon, reproduced here, represents, on the right, the Union Generals 
who had been defeated by the Confederates in battle, and had suffered 
decapitation in consequence — McDowell, who lost at Bull Run; McClellan. 
who failed to take Richmond, when within twelve miles of that city and no 
opposition, comparatively; and Burnside, who was so badly whipped at 
Fredericksburg. To the left of the block, where the President is standing 
with the bloody axe in his hand, are shown the members of the Cabinet — 
Secretary of State Seward, Secretary of War Stanton, Secretary of the Navy 



i-jd "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

Welles, and others— each awaiting his turn. This part of the "Dream" was 
never realized, however, as the President did not decapitate any of his 
Cabinet ofllcers. 

It was the idea of the cartoonist to hold Lincoln up as a man ulio would 
not countenance failure upon the part of subordinates, but visit the severest 
punishment upon those commanders who did not win victories. After Burn- 
side's defeat at Fredericksburg, he was relieved by Hooker, who suffered 
disa.ster at Chancellorsville; Hooker was relieved by Meade, who won at 
Gettysburg, but was refused promotion because he did not follow up and 
crush Lee; Rosecrans was all but defeated at Chickamauga, and gave way 
to Grant, who, of all the Union commanders, had never suffered defeat. 
Grant was Lincoln's ideal fighting man, and the "Old Commander" was 
never superseded. 



THERE WAS NO NEED OF A STORY. 

Dr. Hovey, of Dansville, New York, thought he would call and see the 
President. 

Upon arriving at the White House he found the President on horseback, 
ready for a start. 

Approaching him, he said: 

"President Lincoln, I thought I would call and see you before leaving 
the city, and hear you tell a story." 

The President greeted him pleasantly, and asked where he was from. 

"From Western New York." 

"Well, that's a good enough country without stories," replied the Presi- 
dent, and off he rode. 



I 



LINCOLN A MAN OF SIMPLE HABITS. 

Lincoln's habits at the White House were as simple as they were at his 
old home in Illinois. 

He never alluded to himself as "President," or as occupying "the Presi- 
dency." 

His office he always designated as "the place." 



YARNS AND STORIES. 277 

"Call me Lincoln," said he to a friend; "Mr. President"' had become so 
very tiresome to him. 

"If you see a newsboy down the street, send him up this way," said he to 
a passenger, as he stood waiting for the morning news at his gate. 

Friends cautioned him about exposing himself so openly in the midst of 
enemies; but he never heeded iheni. 

He frequently walked the streets at night, eittirely unprotected; and felt 
any check upon his movements a great annoyance. 

He delighted to see his familiar Western friends; and he gave them 
always a cordial welcome. 

He met them on the old footing, and fell at once into the accustomed 
habits of talk and story-telling. 

An old acquaintance, with his wife, visited Washington. Mr. and Mrs. 
Lincoln proposed to these friends a ride in the Presidential carriage. 

It should be stated in advance that the two men had probably never seen 
each other with gloves on in their lives, unless when they were used as pro- 
tection from the cold. 

The question of each — Lincoln at the White House, and his friend at 
the hotel — was, whether he should wear gloves. 

Of course the ladies urged gloves; but Lincoln only put his in his pocket, 
to be used or not, according to the circumstances. 

When the Presidential party arrived at the hotel, to take in their friends, 
they found the gentleman, overcome by his wife's persuasions, very hand- 
somely gloved. 

The moment he took his seat he began to draw off the clinging kids, 
while Lincoln began to draw his on! 

"No! no! no!" protested his friend, tugging al his gloves. 'Tt is none 
of my doings; put up your gloves, Mr. Lincoln." 

So the two old friends were on even and easy terms, and had their ride 
after their old fashion. 



HIS LAST SPEECH. 



President Lincoln was reading the draft of a speech. Edward, the con- 
servative but dignified butler of the White Plouse, was seen struggling with 
Tad and trying to drag him back from the window from which was waving 
a Confederate flag, captured in some fight and given to the boy. Edward 



278 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

conquered and Tad, rushing to find his father, met him coming forward to 
make, as it proved, his last speech. 

The speech began with these words, "We meet this evening, not in sor- 
row, but in gladness of heart." Having his speech written in loose leaves, 
and being compelled to hold a candle in the other hand, he would let the 
loose leaves drop to the floor one by one. "Tad" picked them up as they 
fell, and impatiently called for more as they fell from his father's hand. 



FORGOT EVERYTHING HE KNEW BEFORE. 

President Lincoln, while entertaining a few select friends, is said to have 
related the following anecdote of a man who knew too much : 

He was a careful, painstaking fellow, who always wanted to be absolutely 
exact, and as a result he frequently got the ill-will of his less careful supe- 
riors. 

During the administration of President Jackson there was a singular 
young gentleman employed in the Public Postoffice in Washington. 

His name was G. ; he was from Tennessee, the son of a widow, a neighbor 
of the President, on which account the old hero had a kind feeling for him, 
and always got him out of dilificulties with some of the higher officials, to 
whom his singular interference was distasteful. 

Among other things, it is said of him that while employed in the Gen- 
eral PostofBce, on one occasion he had to copy a letter to Major H., a high 
ofificial, in answer to an application made by an old gentleman in Virginia 
or Pennsylvania, for the establishment of a new postoffice. 

The writer of the letter said the application could not be granted, in 
consequence of the applicant's "proximity" to another office. 

When the letter came into G.'s hand to copy, being a great stickler for 
plainness, he altered "proximity"' to "nearness to." 

Major H. observed it, and asked G. why he altered his letter. 

"Why," replied G., "because I don't think the man would understand 
what you mean by proximity." 

"Well," said Major H., "try him; put in the 'proximity' again." 

In a few days a letter was received from the applicant, in which he very 
indignantly said that his father had fought for liberty in the second war for 
independence, and he should like to have the name of the scoundrel who 
brought the charge of proximity or anything else wrong against him. 




PRESIDENT LIXli.U.X AXD -TAD, _ n iiliotograph representing the Chief 
Magistrate showing a picture-book to his favorite son, is said to be the best portrait ever 
made of Lincoln. Brady, the ofificial photographer at Washington, having found the 
Piesident and "Tad" in the position depicted above, begged them to remain so until he 
cculd secure a picture. It was not an easy matter to catch President Lincoln in a favorable 
position, he not being a "good sitter." as photographers say. and Brady was delighted when 
he was enabled to portray the President and his son as he found them in the attitudes 
represented. (279) 



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4.*4t-^> 




ROBERT TOUU LINCOLN, eldest son ot the Great Emancipatoi, was not eighteen 
years of age when his father was inaugurated President. A quiet, studious boy, he was 
at College much of the time during his father's occupancy of the White House. President 
Lincoln had a deep affection for his "quiet boy." as he called Robert. The latter was 
Secretary of War in the Cabinets of Presidents Garfield and Arthur, Minister to England 
from 1889 to 1893, and, after the death of George M. Pullman, succeeded the latter as 
President of the ¥ Iman Company, at a salary equalling that of the President of the 
United States. (280) 



YARNS AND STORIES. 281 

"There." said G., "did I not say so?" 

G. carried his improvements so far that Mr. Berry, the Postmaster- 
General, said to him : "I don't want you any longer; you know too much." 

Poor G. went out, but his old friend got him another place. 

This time G.'s ideas underwent a change. He was one day very busy 
writing, when a stranger called in and asked him where the Patent Office 
was. 

"I don't know," said G. 

"Can you tell me where the Treasury Department is?" said the stranger. 

"No," said G. 

"Nor the President's house?" 

"No." 

The stranger finally asked him if he knew where the Capitol was. 

"No," replied G. 

"Do you live in Washington, sir?" 

"Yes, sir," said G. 

"Good Lord! and don't you know where the Patent Office, Treasury, 
President's house and Capitol are?" 

"Stranger," said G., "I was turned out of the postoffice for knowing too 
much. I don't mean to offend in that way again. 

"I am paid for keeping this book. 

"I believe I know that much; but if you find me knowing anything more 
you may take my head." 

"Good morning," said the stranger. 



LINCOLN BELIEVED IN EDUCATION. 

"That every man may receive at least a moderate education, and thereby 
be enabled to read the histories of his own and other countries, by which 
he may duly appreciate the value of our free institutions, appears to be an 
object of vital importance; even on this account alone, to say nothing of 
the advantages and satisfaction to be derived from all being able to read the 
Scriptures and other works, both of a religious and moral nature, for them- 
selves. 

"For my part, I desire to see the time when education, by its means, 
morality, sobriety, enterprise and integrity, shall become much more general 
than at present, and should be gratified to have it in my power to contribute 



282 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

something to tlie advancement of any measure which might have a ten- 
dency to accelerate the happy period." 



LINCOLN ON THE DEED SCOTT DECISION. 

In a speech at Springfield, Illinois, June 26th, 1857, Lincoln referred to 
the decision of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, of the United States Supreme 
Court, in the Dred Scott case, in this manner: 

"The Chief Justice does not directly assert, but plainly assumes as a 
fact, that the public estimate of the black man is more favorable now than it 
was in the days of the Revolution. 

"In those days, by common consent, the spread of the black man's 
bondage in the new countries was prohibited; but now Congress decides 
that it will not continue the prohibition, and the Supreme Court decides 
that it could not if it would. 

"In those days, our Declaration of Independence was held sacred by all, 
and thought to include all; but ncnv, to aid in making the bondage of the 
negro universal and eternal, it is assailed and sneered at, and constructed 
and hawked at, and torn, till, if its framers could rise from their graves, they 
could not at all recognize it. 

"All the powers of earth seem combining against the slave; Mammon 
is after him, ambition follows, philosophy follows, and the theology of the 
day is fast joining the cry." 



LINCOLN MADE MANY NOTABLE SPEECHES. 

Abraham Lincoln made many notable addresses and speeches during 
liis career previous to the time of his election to the Presidency. 

However, beautiful in thought and expression as they were, they were 
not appreciated by those who heard and read them until after the people 
of the United States and the world had come to understand the man who 
delivered them. 

Lincoln had the rare and valuable faculty of putting the most sublime 
feeling into his speeches; and he never found it necessary to incumber his 
wisest, wittiest and most famous sayings with a weakening mass of words. 

He put his thoughts into the simplest language, so that all might com- 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



283 



prehend, and he never said anything which was not full of the deepest 
meaning. 



WHAT AILED THE BOYS. 



Mr. Roland Diller, who was one of Mr. Lincoln's neighbors in Spring- 
field, tells the following : 

'I was called to the door one day by the cries of children in the street, 
and there was Mr. Lincoln, striding by with two of his boys, both of whom 
were wailing aloud. 'Why, 
Mr. Lincoln, what's the 
matter with the boys?' I 
asked. 

" 'Just what's the matter 
with the whole world,' Lin- ^ . ,-, 

coin replied. 'I've got three f^^ y 

walnuts, and each wants / I \a/ 

two." " 

TAD'S CONFEDERATE FLAG. 



One of the prettiest in- 
cidents in the closing days 
of the Civil War occurred 
when the troops, 'marching 
home again,' passed in 
grand form, if with well- 
worn uniforms and tattered 
bunting, before the White 
House. 

Naturally, an immense 
crowd had assembled on 
the streets, the lawns, 
porches, balconies, and windows, 




even those of the executive 



sion itself being crowded to excess. A central figure was that 



man- 
of the 



284 ^^ABE'^ LINCOLN'S 

President, Abraham Lincoln, who, with bared head, unfurled and waved our 
Nation's flag in the midst of lusty cheers. 

But suddenly there was an unexpected sight. 

A small boy leaned forward and sent streaming to the air the banner of 
the boys in gray. It was an old flag which had been captured from the Con- 
federates, and which the urchin, the President's second son, Tad, had 
obtained possession of and considered an additional triumph to unfurl on 
this all-important day. 

Vainly did the servant who had followed him to the window plead with 
him to desist. No, Master Tad, Pet of the White House, was not to be pre- 
vented from adding to the loyal demonstration of the hour. 

To his surprise, however, the crowd viewed it differently. Had it floated 
from any other window in the capital that day, no doubt it would have been 
the target of contempt and abuse; but when the President, understanding 
what load happened, turned, with a smile on his grand, plain face, and showed 
his approval by a gesture and expression, cheer after cheer rent the air. 



CALLED BLESSINGS ON THE AMERICAN WOMEN. 

President Lincoln attended a Ladies' Fair for the benefit of the Union 
soldiers, at Washington, March i6th, 1864. 

In his remarks he said: 

"I appear to say but a word. 

"This extraordinary war in which we are engaged falls heavily upon all 
classes of people, but the most heavily upon the soldiers. For it has been 
said, 'All that a man hath will he give for his life,' and, while all contribute 
of their substance, the soldier puts his life at stake, and often yields it up in 
his country's cause. 

"The highest merit, then, is due the soldiers. 

'Tn this extraordinary war extraordinary developments have manifested 
themselves such as have not been seen in former wars; and among these 
manifestations nothing has been more remarkable than these fairs for the 
relief of suffering soldiers and their families, and the chief agents in these 
fairs are the women of America ! 

"I am not accustomed to the use of language of eulogy; I have never 
studied the art of paying comphments to women; but I must say that if all 
that has been said by orators and poets since the creation of the world in 



YARNS 'AND STORIES. 



2cSt 



praise of women were applied to the women of America, it would not do 
them justice for their conduct during the war. 

"I will close by saying, God bless the women of America !" 



IINCOLN'S "ORDER NO. 252." 



After the United States had enlisted former negro slaves as soldiers to 
fight alongside the Northern troops for the maintenance of the integrity of 
the Union, so great was the indignation of the Confederate Government 
that President Davis declared he would not recognize blacks captured in 
battle and in uniform as 
prisoners of war. This meant 
that he would have them re- 
turned to their previous 
owners, have them flogged 
and fined for running away 
from their masters, or even 
shot if he felt like it. This 
attitude of the President of 
the Confederate States of 
America led to the promul- 
gation of President Lin- 
coln's famous "Order No. 
252," which, in efYect, was a 
notification to the com- 
manding officers of the 
Southern forces that if 
negro prisoners of war were 
not treated as such, the 
Union commanders would 
retaliate. "Harpers Week- 
ly" of August isth, 1863, contained a clever cartoon, which we reproduce, 
representing President Lincoln holding the Soi^th by the collar, while "Old 
Abe" shouts the follo^^F•ing words of warning to Jeff Davis, who, cat-o'-nine- 
tails in hand, is in pursuit of a terrified little negro boy: 

I\IR. LINCOLN: "Look here, Jef? Da\'is! If you lay a finger on 




286 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

that boy, to hurt him, I'll Hck this ugly cub of yours within an inch of his 
life!" 

Much to the surprise of the Confederates, the negro soldiers fought val- 
iantly; they were fearless when well led, obeyed orders without hesitation, 
were amenable to discipline, and were eager and anxious, at all times, to do 
their duty. In battle they were formidable opponents, and in using the bay- 
onet were the equal of the best trained troops. The Southerners hated them 
beyond power of expression. 



TALKED TO THE NEGROES OF HICHMOND. 

The President walkea througn the streets of Richmond — without a 
guard except a few seamen — in company with his son "Tad," and Admiral 
Porter, on April 4th, 1865, the day following the evacuation of the city. 

Colored people gathered about him on every side, eager to see and thank 
their liberator. Mr. Lincoln addressed the following remarks to one of 
these gatherings : 

"My poor friends, you are free' — free as air. You can cast off the name 
of slave and trample upon it; it will come to you no more. 

"Liberty is your birthright. God gave it to you as He gave it to others, 
and it is a sin that you have been deprived of it for so many years. 

"But you must try to deserve this priceless boon. Let the world see 
that you merit it, and are able to maintain it by your good work. 

"Don't let your joy carry you into excesses; learn the laws, and obey 
them. Obey God's commandments, and thank Him for giving you liberty, 
for to Him you owe all things. 

"There, now, let me pass on; I have but little time to spare. 

"I want to see the Capitol, and must return at once to Washington to 
secure to you that liberty which you seem to prize so highly." 



"ABE" ADDED A SAVING CLAUSE. 

Lincoln fell in love with Miss Mary S. Owens about 1833 or so, and, 
while she was attracted toward him she was not passionately fond of him. 

Lincoln's letter of proposal of marriage, sent by him to Miss Owens, while 
singular, unique, and decidedly unconventional, was certainly not very 



i 



YARNS 'AND STORIES. 2E7 

ardent. He, after the fashion of the lawyer, presented the matter very 
cautiously, and pleaded his own cause: then presented her side of the case, 
advised her not "to do it," and agreed to abide by her decision. 

iliss Owens respected Lincoln, but promptly rejected him — really very 
much to "Abe's" relief. 



HOW "JACK" WAS "DONE UP." 

Not far from New Salem, Illinois, at a place called Clary's Grove, a gang 
of frontier ruffians had established headquarters, and the champion wrestler 
of "The Grove" was "Jack' Armstrong, a bully of the worst type. 

Learning that Abraham was something of a wrestler liimself, "Jack" sent 
him a challenge. At that time and in that conmumity a refusal would have 
resulted in social and business ostracism, not to mention the stigma of 
cowardice which would attach. 

It was a great day for New Salem and "The Grove" when Lincohi and 
Armstrong met. Settlers within a radius of fifty miles flocked to the scene, 
and the wagers laid were heavy and many. Armstrong proved a weakling in 
the hands of the powerful Kentuckian, and "Jack's" adherents were about to 
mob Lincoln when the latter's friends saved him from probable death by 
rushing to the rescue. 



ANGELS COULDN'T SWEAR IT RIGHT. 

The President was once speaking about an attack made on him by the 
Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War for a certain alleged 
blunder in the Southwest — the matter involved being one which had fallen 
directly under the observation of the army officer to whom he was talking, 
who possessed official evidence completely upsetting all the conclusions of 
the Committee. 

"jNIight it not be well for me," queried the officer, "to set this matter right 
in a letter to some paper, stating the facts as they actually transpired?" 

"Oh, no," replied the President, "at least, not now. If I were to try to 
read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as 
well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know liow — the 
very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings 
me out all right, what is said against me won't amount to anything. If the 



1/ 



288 "ABE" LINCOLN'S ' 

end brings me out wrong, ten thousand angels swearing I was right would 
make no difference." 



"MUST GO. AND GO TO STAY." 

Ward Hill Lamon was President Lincoln's Cerberus, his watch dog, 
guardian, friend, companion and confidant. Some days before Lincoln's 
departure for Washington to be inaugurated, he wrote to Lamon at Bloom- 
ington, that he desired to see him at once. He went to Springfield, and 
Lincoln said : 

"Hill, on the nth I go to Washington, and I want you to go along with 
me. Our friends have already asked me to send you as Consul to Paris. 
You know I would cheerfully give you anything for which our friends may 
ask or which you may desire, but it looks as if we might have war. 

"In that case I Avant you with me. In fact, I must have you. So get 
yourself ready and come along. It will be handy to have you around. If 
there is to be a fight, I want you to help me to do my share of it, as you have 
done in times past. You must go. and go to stay." 

This is Lamon's version of it. 



LINCOLN WASN'T BUYING NOMINATIONS. 

To a party who wished to be empowered to negotiate reward for prom- 
ises of influence in the Chicago Convention, i860, Mr. Lincoln replied: 

"No, gentlemen; I have not asked the nomination, and I will not now 
buy it with pledges. 

"If I am nominated and elected, I shall not go into the Presidency as 
the tool of this man or that man, or as the property of any factor or clique." 



HE ENVIED THE SOLDIER AT THE FRONT. 

After some very bad news had come in from the army in the field, Lin- 
coln remarked to Schuyler Colfax : 

"How willingly would I exchange places to-day with the soldier who 
sleeps on the ground in the Army of the Potomac !"' 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



289 



DON'T TaUST TOO FAR. 

In the campaign of 1852, Lincoln, in reply to Douglas' speech, wherein 
he spoke of confidence in Providence, replied: "Let us stand by our candi- 
date (General Scott) as faithfully as he has always stood by our country, 
and I much doubt if we do not perceive a slight abatement of Judge Doug- 




las' confidence in Providence as well as the people. I suspect that confi- 
dence is not more firmly fixed with the Judge than it was with the old woman 
whose horse ran away with her in a buggy. She said she 'trusted in Provi- 
dence till the britchen broke,' and then she 'didn't know what in airth 
to do.' " 



HF'D "EISZ THE DICTATORSHIP." 



Lincoln's great generosity to his leaders was shown when, in January, 
1863, he assigned "Fighting Joe" Hooker to the command of the Army of 
the Potomac. Hooker had believed in a military dictatorship, and it was 
;m open secret that McClellan might have become such had he possessed 
fhe nerve. Lincoln, however, was not bothered by this prattle, as he did 



290 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

not think enough of it to relieve McClellan of his command. The President 
said to Hooker: 

"I have heard, in such a way as to believe it, of your recently saying that 
both the army and the Government needed a dictator. Of course, it 
was not for this, but in spite of it, that I have given you the command. Only 
those generals who gain success can be dictators. 

"What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk the dictator- 
ship." 

Lincoln also believed Hooker had not given cordial support to General 
Burnside when he was in command of the army. In Lincoln's own pecul- 
iarly plain language, he told Hooker that he had done "a great wrong to 
the country and to a most meritorious and honorable brother officer." 



"MAJOR GENEEAI, I RECKON." 

At one time the President had the appointment of a large additional num- 
ber of brigadier and major generals. Among the immense number of appli- 
cations, Mr. Lincoln came upon one wherein the claims of a certain worthy 
(not in the service at all) "for a generalship" were glowingly set forth. But 
the applicant didn't specify whether he wanted to be brigadier or major gen- 
eral. 

The President observed this difificulty, and solved it by a lucid indorse- 
ment. The clerk, on receiving the paper again, found written across its 
back, "Major General, I reckon. A. Lincoln." 



WOULD SEE THE TRACKS. 

Judge Herndon, Lincoln's law partner, said that he never saw Lincoln 
more cheerful than on the day previous to his departure from Springfield 
for Washington, and Judge Gillespie, who visited him a few days earlier, 
found him in excellent spirits. 

"I told him that I believed it would do him good to get down to Wash- 
ington," said Herndon. 

"I know it will," Lincoln replied. "I only wish I could have got there 
to lock the door before the horse was stolen. But when I get to the spot, 1 
can find the tracks." 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



291 



"ABE" GAVE HER A "SURE TIP." 



If all the days Lincoln attended school were added together, they would 
lot make a single year's time, and he never studied grammar or geography 
Dr any of the higher branches. His first teacher in Indiana was Hazel Dor- 
jcy, who opened a school in a log schoolhouse a mile and a half from the 

Lincoln cabin. The building had 
holes for windows, which were cov- 
ered over with greased paper to 
admit light. The roof was just high 
enough for a man to stand erect. It 
did not take long to demonstrate 
that "Abe" was superior to any 
scholar in his class. His next teacher 
was Andrew Crawford, who taught 
in the winter of 1822-3, in the same 
little schoolhouse. "Abe" was an 
excellent speller, and it is said that 
le liked to show off his knowledge, especially if he could help out his less 
ortunate schoolmates. One day the teacher gave out the word "defied." A 
arge class was on the floor, but it seemed that no one would be able to spell 
t. The teacher declared he would keep the whole class in all day and nighi 
f "defied" was not spelled correctly. 

When the word came around to Katy Roby, she was standing where she 
:ould see young "Abe." She started, "d-c-f," and while trying to decide 
vhether to spell the word with an "i" or a "y," she noticed that Abe had his 
inger on his eye and a smile on his face, and instantly took the hint. She 
spelled the word correctly- and school was dismissed. 




THE PRESIDENT HAD KNOWLEDGE OF HIM. 



Lincoln never forgot anyone or anything. 

At one of the afternoon receptions at the White House a stranger shook 
liands with him, and, as he did so. reniarked casually, that he was elected to 
Congress about the time ]\Ir. Lincoln's term as representative expired, 
ivhich happened many years before. 

"Yes," said the President, "you are from " (mentioning the State). 



292 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

"I remetnber reading of your election in a newspaper one morning on a 
steamboat going down to Mount Vernon." 

At another time a gentleman addressed him, saying, "I presume, Mr. 
President, you have forgotten me?" 

"No," was the prompt reply; "your name is Flood. I saw you last, 
twelve years ago, at " (naming the place and the occasion). 

"I am glad to see," he continued, "that the Flood goes on." 

Subsequent to his re-election a deputation of bankers from various sec- 
tions w-ere introduced one day by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

After a few moments of general conversation, Lincoln turned to one of 
them and said: 

"Your district did not give me so strong a vote at the last election as it 
did in i860." 

"I think, sir. that you must be mistaken," replied the banker. "I have 
the impression that your majority was considerably increased at the last elec- 
tion." 

"No," rejoined the President, "you fell off about six hundred votes." 

Then taking down from the bookcase the official canvass of i860 and 
1864, he referred to the vote of the district named, and proved to be quite 
right in his assertion. 



ONIY HALF A MAN. 



As President Lincoln, arm in arm with ex-President Buchanan, entered 
the Capitol, and passed into the Senate Chamber, filled to overflowing with 
Senators, members of the Diplomatic Corps, and visitors, the contrast 
between the two men struck every observer. 

"Mr. Buchanan w'as so withered and bowed with age," wrote George W. 
Julian, of Indiana, who was among the spectators, "that in contrast with the 
towering form of Mr. Lincoln he seemed little more than half a man." 



GRANT CONGRATULATED LINCOLN. 

As soon as the result of the Presidential election of 1864 was known. 
General Grant telegraphed from City Point his congratulations, and added 
that "the election ha\'ing passed off quietly ... is a victory worth 
more to the country than a battle won." 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



-^3 



"BRUTUS AUD CAESAR." 



London "Punch" persistently maintained throughout the ;War for the 
tiion that the question of what to do with the blacks was the most bother- 
me of all the problems President Lincoln had to solve. "Punch" thought 
e Rebellion had its origin in an effort to determine whether there should 

or should not be slavery in 
the United States, and was 
fought with this as the main 
end in view. "Punch" of 
August 15th, 1863. con- 
tained the cartoon repro- 
duced on this page, the title 
being "Brutus and Caesar." 
President Lincoln was 
pictured as Brutus, while 
the ghost of Caesar, which 
appeared in the tent of the 
American Brutus during the 
dark hours of the night, was 
represented in the shape of 
a husky and anything but 
ghost-like African, whose 
complexion would tend to 
make the blackest tar look 
like skimmed milk in com- 
parison. This was the text 
below the cartoon: (From 
2 American Edition of Shakespeare.) The Tent of Brutus (Lincoln), 
ght. Enter the Ghost of Caesar. 
BRUTUS: "Wall, now! Do tell! Who's you?" 

CAESAR: "I am dy ebil genus, Massa Linking. Dis child am awful 
pressional!" 
"Punch's" cartoons were decidedly unfriendly in tone toward President 
ncoln, some of them being not only objectionable in the display of bad 
ite, but offensive and vulgar. It is true that after the assassination of the 
esident, "Punch," in illustrations, paid marked and deserved tribute to 
; memory of the Great Emancipator, but it had little that was good to say 




294 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

of him while he was among the living and engaged in carrying out the great 
work for which he was destined to win eternal fame. 



HOW STANTON GOT INTO THE CABINET. 

President Lincoln, w'ell aware of Stanton's unfriendliness, was surprised 
when Secretary of the Treasury Chase told him that Stanton had expressed 
the opinion that the arrest of the Confederate Commissioners, Mason and. 
Slidell, was legal and justified by international law. The President asked 
Secretary Chase to invite Stanton to the White House, and Stanton came. 
Mr. Lincoln thanked him for the o[)inion he had expressed, and asked him 
to put it in writing. 

Stanton complied, the President read it carefully, and, after putting it 
away, astounded Stanton by ofifering him the portfolio of War. Stanton was 
a Democrat, had been one of the President's most persistent vilifiers, and 
could not realize, at first, that Lincoln meant what he said. He managed, 
however to say : 

"T am both surprised and embarrassed, Mr. President, and would ask 
a couple of days to consider this most important matter." 

Lincoln fully understood what was going on in Stanton's mind, and then 
said: 

"This is a very critical period in the life of the nation, Mr. Stanton, as 
you are well aware, and I well know you are as much interested in sustaining 
the government as myself or any other man. This is no time to consider 
mere party issues. The life of the nation is in danger. I need the best coun- 
sellors around me. I have every confidence in your judgment, and have 
concluded to ask you to become one of my counsellors. The office of the 
Secretary of War will soon be vacant, and I am anxious to have you take Mr. 
Cameron's place." 

Stanton decided to accept. 



"ABE" LIKE HIS FATHER, 

"Abe" Lincoln's father was never at loss for an answer. An old neigh- 
bor of Thomas Lincoln — "Abe's" father — was passing the Lincoln farm one 



J 



YARNS AND STORIES. 29; 



ay, when he saw "Abe's" father grubbing up some hazehiut bushes, and 
jid to him: "Why, Grandpap, I thought you wanted to sell your farm?" 

"And so I do," he replied, "but I ain't goin' to let my farm know it." 

" 'Abe's' jes' like his father," the old ones would say. 



"NO MOON AT AIL." 

One of the most notable of- Lincoln's law cases was that in which he 
efended William D. Armstrong, charged with murder. The case was one 
hich was watched during its progress with intense interest, and it had a 
lost dramatic ending. 

The defendant was the son of Jack and Hannah A.rmstrong. The father 
•as dead, but Hannah, who had been very motherly and helpful to Lincoln 
uring his life at New Salem, was still living, and asked Lincoln to defend 
im. Young Armstrong had been a wild lad, and was often in bad com- 
any. 

The principal witness had sworn thai he saw young Armstrong strike 
lie fatal blow, the moon being very bright at the time. 

Lincoln brought forward the almanac, which showed that at the time the 
lurder was committed there was no moon at all. In his argument, Lincoln's 
peech was so feelingly made tliat at its close all the men in the jury-box were 
1 tears. It was just half an hour when the jury returned a verdict of acquit- 
al. 

Lincoln would accept no fee except the thanks of the anxious mother. 



"ABE" A SUPERB MIMIC. 

Lincoln's reading in his early days embraced a wide range. He was par- 
icularly fond of all stories containing fun, wit and humor, and every one of 
hese he came across he learned by heart, thus adding to his personal store. 
le improved as a reciter and retailer of the stories he had read and heard, 
nd as the reciter of tales of his own invention, and he had ready and eager 
uditors. 

Judge Herndon, in his "Abraham Lincoln," relates that as a mimic Lin- 
oln was unequaled. An old neighbor said : "His laugh was striking. Such 



296 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

awkward gestures belonged to no other man. They attracted universal 
attention, from the old and sedate down to the schoolboy. Then, in a few 
moments, he was as calm and thoughtful as a judge on the bench, and as 
ready to give advice on the most important matters; fun and gravity grew 
on him alike." 



WHY HE WAS CALLED "HONEST ABE." 

During the year Lincoln was in Denton OfTutt's store at New Salem, 
that gentleman, whose business was somewhat widely and unwisely spread 
about the country, ceased to prosper in his finances and finally failed. The 
store was shut up, the mill was closed, and Abraham Lincoln was out of 
business. 

The year had been one of great advance, in many respects. He had made 
new and valuable acquaintances, read many books, mastered the grammar 
of his own tongue, won multitudes of friends, and became ready for a step 
still further in advance. 

Those who could appreciate brains respected him, and those whose ideas 
of a man related to his muscles were devoted to him. It was while he was 
performing the work of the store that he acquired the sobriquet of "Honest 
Abe" — a characterization he never dishonored, and an abbreviation that he 
never outgrew. 

He was judge, arbitrator, referee, umpire, authority, in all disputes, 
games and matches of man-flesh, horse-flesh, a pacificator in all quarrels; 
everybody's friend; the best-natured, the most sensible, the best-informed, 
the most modest and unassuming, the kindest, gentlest, roughest, strongest, 
best fellow in all New Salem and the region round about. 



"ABE'S" NAUE REMAINED ON THE SIGN. 

Enduring friendship and love of old associations were prominent charac- 
teristics of President Lincoln. When about to leave Springfield for Wash- 
ington, he went to the dingy little law office which had sheltered his sad- 
dest hours. 

He sat down on the couch, and said to his law partner, Judge Henidon : 
"Billy, you and I have been together for more than twenty years, and have 



^^^^^>''^^ 




UtUKOt. H. IhuMAS was one ot tne most remarkaole ot tne Union commanders 
biought forth by the Civil War. "The Rock or'Chickamauga" saved the day- by his 
gallant stubbornness, this enabling the Federals to proceed safely to Chattanooga. When 
Thomas, later in the War, was facing General Hood near Nashville. Grant, impatient at 
his slowness, determined to remove him, but Lincoln stood by him. When ready, Thomas 
defeated Hood at Franklin, and tlicn destroyed his, army at Nashville. Thomas was born 
in Virginia in 1816, finished at West Point in 1840, served in the Mexican War, and died 
in 1870. (297) 



w^^S: 




JOHN \ l()(i\\ u IS 1 UeiiioLi itK mLinlur ni Ldiis^uss trum Illinois wlicii the 
War began, but he was a Union man and entered the army at once. He had already seen 
service in Mexico, and the War was not far advanced when Lincoln pronounced him the 
ablest of the volunteer commanders. He had the confidence of Lincoln because he was 
not only an impetuous fighter, but a clear-headed, aggressive one. He was United States 
Senator at his death in 1886, and was the Vice-Presidential nominee in 1884 on the ticket 
with Blaine. "Black Jack" was born in Illinois in 1826. (298) 



YARNS AND STORIES 299 

ever passed a word. Will you let my name stay on the old sign until 1 come 
ack from Washington?" 

The tears started to Herndon's eyes. He put out his hand. "Mr. Lin- 
Dhi," said he, "I never will have any other partner while you live"; and to 
le day of assassination, all the doings of the firm were in the name of "Lin- 
Dln & Herndon." 



VEEY HOMELY AT HRST SIGHT. 

Early in January, 1861, Colonel Alex. K. McClure, of Philadelphia, 
?ceived a telegram from President-elect Lincoln, asking him (McClure) 
) visit him at Springfield, Illinois. Colonel McClure described his disap- 
ointment at first sight of Lincoln in these words : 

"I went directly from the depot to Lincoln's house and rang the bell, 
'hich was answered by Lincoln himself opening the door. I doubt whether 
wholly concealed my disappointment at meeting him. 

"Tall, gaunt, ungainly, ill clad, with a homeliness of manner that was 
nique in itself, I confess that my heart sank within me as I remembered 
lat this was the man chosen by a great nation to becotne its ruler in the 
ravest period of its history. 

"I remember his dress as if it were but yesterday — snufif-colored and 
ouchy pantaloons, open black vest, held by a few brass buttons; straight or 
^•ening dress-coat, with tightly fitting sleeves to exaggerate his long, bony 
rms, and all supplemented by an awkwardness that was uncommon among 
len of intelligence. 

"Such was the picture I met in the person of Abraham Lincoln. We sat 
own in his plainly furnished parlor, and were uninterrupted during the 
early four hours that I remained with him, and little by little, as his earnest- 
ess, sincerity and candor were developed in conversation, I forgot all the 
rotesque qualities which so confounded me when I first greeted him." 



THE MAN TO TETTST. 

"If a man is honest in his mind," said Lincoln one day, long before he 
ecame President, "you are pretty safe in trusting him." 



300 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

"WUZ QOIN' TER BE 'HITCHED,'" 

"Abe's" nephew — or one of them — related a story in connection with 
Lincohi's first love (Anne Rutledge), and his subsequent marriage to Miss 
Mary Todd. This nephew was a plain, every-day farmer, and thought 
everything of his uncle, whose greatness he quite thoroughly appreciated, 
although he did not pose to any extreme as the relative of a President of the 
United States. 

Said he one day, in telling his story : 

"Us child'en, w'en we heerd Uncle 'Abe' wuz a-goin' to be married, axed 
Gran'ma ef Uncle 'Abe' never hed hed a gal afore, an' she says, sez she, "Well, 
"Abe" wuz never a ban' nohow to run 'round visitin' much, or go with the 
gals, neither, but he did fall in love vv'ith a Anne Rutledge, who lived out 
near Springfield, an' after she died he'd come home an' ev'ry time he'd talk 
'bout her, he cried dreadful. He never could talk of her nohov,' 'thout he'd 
jes' cry an' cry, hke a young feller.' 

"Onct he tol' Gran'ma they wuz goin' ter be hitched, they havin' prom- 
ised each other, an' thet is all we ever heered 'bout it. But, so it wuz, that 
arter Uncle 'Abe' hed got over his mournin', he wuz married ter a woman 
w'ich hed lived down in Kentuck. 

"Uncle 'Abe' hisself tol' us he wuz married the nex' time he come up ter 
our place, an' w'en we ast him why he didn't bring his wife up to see us, he 
said : 'She's very busy and can't come.' 

"But we knowed bettcr'n that. He wuz too proud to bring her up, 'cause 
nothin' would suit her, nohow. She wuzn't raised the way we wuz, an' wuz 
different from us, and we heerd, tu, she wuz as proud as cud be. 

"No, an' he never brought none uv the child'en, neither. 

"But then. Uncle 'Abe,' he wuzn't to blame. We never thought he wuz 
stuck up." 



I 



HE PROPOSED TO SAVE THE UNION. 

Replying to an editorial written by Horace Greeley, the President wrote : 
"My paramount object is to save the Union, and not either to save or 
to destroy slavery. 

"If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it. 
"If I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



301 



do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that. 

"What I do about slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe 
it helps to save this Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not 
believe it would help to save the Union. 

"I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, 
and I shall do more whenever I believe doing more will help the cause." 



THE SAME OLD RTIM. 



One of President Lincoln's friends, visiting at the White House, was 
finding considerable fault with the constant agitation in Congress of the 

slavery question. He re- 
marked that, after the adop- 
tion of the Emancipation pol- 
icy, he had hoped for some- 
thing new. 

"There was a man down 
in Maine," said the President, 
in reply, "who kept a grocery 
store, and a lot of fellows 
used to loaf around for their 
toddy. He only gave 'em 
New England rum, and they 
drank pretty considerable of 
it. But after awhile they 
began to get tired of that, 
and kept asking for some- 
thing new — something new 
— all the time. Well, one 
night, when the whole crowd 
were around, the grocer brought out his glasses, and says he, 'I've got some- 
thing New for you to drink, boys, now.' 
'■ 'Honor bright?' said they. 

" 'Honor bright,' says he, and with that he sets out a jug. 'Thar,' says 
he, 'that's something new; it's New England rum!' says he. 

"Now," remarked the President, in conclusion, "I guess we're a good 
deal like that crowd, and Congress is a good deal like that store-keeper!" 




302 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

SAVED LINCOLN'S LITE. 

When Mr. Lincoln was quite a small boy he met with an accident that 
almost cost him his life. He was saved by Austin Gollaher, a young play- 
mate. Mr. Gollaher lived to be more than ninety years of age, and to the 
day of his death related with great pride his boyhood association with 
Lincoln. 

"Yes," Mr. Gollaher once said, "the story that I once saved Abraham 
Lincoln's life is true. He and I had been going to school together for a 
year or more, and had become greatly attached to each other. Then school 
disbanded on account of there being so few scholars, and we did not see 6ach 
other much for a long while. 

"One Sunday my mother visited the Lincolns, and I was taken along. 
'Abe' and I played around all day. Finally, we concluded to cross the creek 
to hunt for some partridges young Lincoln had seen the day before. The 
creek was swollen by a recent rain, and, in crossing on the narrow footlog, 
'Abe' fell in. Neither of us could swim. I got a long pole and held it out 
to 'Abe,' who grabbed it. Then I pulled him ashore. 

"He was almost dead, and I was badly scared. I rolled and pounded him 
in good earnest. Then I got him by the arms and shook him, the water 
meanwhile pouring out of his mouth. By this means I succeeded in bring- 
ing him to, and he was soon all right. 

"Then a new difficulty confronted us. If our mothers discovered our 
wet clothes they would whip us. This we dreaded from experience, and 
determined to avoid. It was June, the sun was very warm, and we soon 
dried our clothing by spreading it on the rocks about us. We promised 
never to tell the story, and I never did until after Lincoln's tragic end." 



WOULD NOT EECALL A SINGLE WORD. 

In conversation with some friends at the White House on New Year's 
evening, 1863, President Lincoln said, concerning his Emancipation 
Proclamation : 

"The signature looks a little tremulous, for my hand was tired, but my 
resolution was firm. 

"I told them in September, if they did not return to their allegiance. 



YARNS "AND STORIES. 



303 



and cease murdering our soldiers, I would strike at this pillar of their 
strength. 

"And now the promise shall be kept, and not one word of it will I ever 
recall." 



OID BROOM BEST AFTER AIL. 



During the time the enemies of General Grant were making their bitterest 
attacks upon him, and demanding that the President remove him from com- 
mand, "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper," of June 13, 1863, came out 
with the cartoon reproduced. The text printed under the picture was to the 
following efifect : 

OLD ABE: "Greeley be hanged! I want no more new brooms. I 
begin to think that the worst thing about my old ones ,was in not being 
handled right." 

The old broom 
the President holds 
in his right hand 
is labeled "Grant." 
The latter had cap- 
tured Fort Donel- 
son, defeated the 
C o n f e d e rates at 
Shiloh, luka, Port 
Gibson, and other 
places, and had 
his 







iron grasp. When the demand was made that Lmcoln depose Grant, the 
President answered, "I can't spare this man; he fights!" Grant never lost a 



304 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

battle and when he found the enemy he always fought him. McClellan, 
Burnside, Pope and Hooker had been found wanting, so Lincoln pinned his 
faith to Grant. As noted in the cartoon, Horace Greeley, editor of the New 
York Tribune, Thurlow Weed, and others wanted Lincoln to try some other 
new brooms, but President Lincoln was wearied with defeats, and wanted 
a few victories to offset them. Therefore, he stood by Grant, wdio gave 
him victories. 



GOD WITH A LITTLE "g." 

Abraham Lincoln 

his hand and pen 
he will be good 

but god Knows When 

These lines were found written in young Lincoln's own hand at the bot- 
tom of a page whereon he had been ciphering. Lincoln always wrote a clear, 
regular "fist." In this instance he evidently did not appreciate the sacred- 
ness of the name of the Deity, when he used a little "g." 

Lincoln once said he did not remember the time when he could not 
write. 



'ABE'S" LOG. 



It was the custom in Sangamon for the "menfolks" to gather at noon 
and in the evening, when resting, in a convenient lane near the mill. They 
had rolled out a long peeled log, on which they lounged while they whittled 
and talked. 

Lincoln had not been long in Sangamon before he joined this circle. At 
once he became a favorite by his jokes and good-humor. As soon as he 
appeared at the assembly ground the men would start him to storj'-telling. 
So irresistibly droll were his "yarns" that whenever he'd end up in his unex- 
pected v.-ay the boys on the log would whoop and roll off. The result of 
the rolling off was to polish the log like a mirror. The men, recognizing 
Lincoln's part in this polishing, christened their seat "Abe's log." 

Long after Lincoln had disappeared from Sangamon, "Abe's log" 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



305 



remained, and until it had rotted away people pointed it eut. and repeated 
t!ie droll stories of the stranger. 



IT WAS A FINE FIZZLE. 



President Lincoln, in company with General Grant, was inspecting the 
Dutch Gap Canal at City Point. "Grant, do you know what this reminds me 

of? Out in Springfield, 111., there was 
a blacksmith who, not having much to 
do, took a piece of soft iron and at- 
tempted to weld it into an agricultural 
implement, but discovered that the 
iron would not hold out; then he 
concluded it would make a claw ham- 
mer; but having too much 
iron, attempted to make an 
ax, but decided after work- 
ing awhile that there was not 
enough iron left. Finally, 
becoming disgusted, he filled 
the forge full of coal and 
brought the iron to a white 
heat; then with his tongs he 
lifted it from the bed of coals, 
tub of water near by, ex- 
make anything else of you, 
'"'" how.' " "I was afraid that 

done with the Dutch Gap Canal," said General 




and thrusting it into a 
claimed : 'Well, if I can't 
1 will make a fizzle, any- 
was about what we had 
Grant. 



A TEETOTALER. 



When Lincoln was in the Black Hawk War as captain, the volunteer 
soldiers drank in with delight the jests and stories of the tall captain. ..'Esop's 
Fables were given a new dress, and the tales of the wild adventures that he 



3o6 "TiBE" LINCOLN'S 

liad brought from Kentucky and Indiana were many, but his inspiration 
was never stimulated by recourse to the whisky jug. 

When his grateful and delighted auditors pressed this on him he had one 
reply: '"Thank you. I never drink it." 



NOT TO "OPEN SHOP'" THERE. 

President Lincoln was passing down Pennsylvania avenue in Washing- 
ton one day, when a man came running after him, h.ailed him, and thrust a 
bundle of papers in his hands. 

It angered him not a little, and he pitched the papers back, saying, "Im 
not going to open shop here." 



WE HAVE LIBERTY OF ALL KINDS. 

Lincoln delivered a remarkable speech at Springfield, Illinois, when but 
twenty-eight years of age, upon the liberty possessed by the people of the 
United States. 

In part, he said : 

"In the great journal of things happening under the sun, we, the Amer- 
ican people, find our account running under date of the nineteenth century 
</i the Christian era. 

"We find ourselves in the peaceful possession of ihe fairest portion of 
the earth as regards extent of territory, fertility of soil, and salubrity of 
climate. 

"We find ourselves under the government of a system of political insti- 
tutions conducing more essentially to the ends of civil and religious liberty 
than any of which history of former times tells us. 

"We, when mounting the stage of existence, found ourselves the legal 
inheritors of these fundamental blessings. 

"'We toiled not in the acquisition or establishment of them; they are a 
legacy bequeathed to us by a once hardy, brave, and patriotic, but now 
lamented and departed race of ancestors. 

"Theirs was the task (and nobly did they perform it) to possess them- 



YARNS AND STORIES. 307 

selves, us. of this goodly land, to uprear upon its hills and valleys a political 
edifice of liberty and equal rights; 'tis ours to transmit these — the former 
unprofaned by the foot of an intruder, the latter undecayed by the lapse of 
time and untorn by usurpation — to the generation that fate shall permit 
the world to know. 

"This task, gratitude to our fathers, justice to ourselves, duty to pos- 
terity — all imperatively require us faithfully to perform. 

"How, then, shall we perform it? At what point shall we expect the 
approach of danger? 

"Shall we expect some trans-Atlantic military giant to step the ocean 
and crush us at a blow? 

"Never ! All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa, combined, with all 
the treasures of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest, with a 
Bonaparte for a commander, could not, by force, take a drink from the 
Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years. 

"At what point, then, is this approach of danger to be expected? 

"I answer, if ever it reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot 
come from abroad. 

"If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. 

"As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time or die by suicide. 

"I hope I am not over-wary; but, if I am not, there is even now some- 
thing of ill-omen amongst us. 

"I mean the increasing disregard for law which pervades the country, 
the disposition to substitute the wild and furious passions in lieu of the sober 
judgment of courts, and the worse than savage mobs for the executive min- 
isters of justice. 

"This disposition is awfully fearful in any community, and that it now 
exists in ours, though grating to our feelings to admit it, it would be a 
violation of truth and an insult to deny. 

"Accounts of outrages committed by mobs form the every-day news of 
the times. 

"They have pervaded the country from New England to Louisiana; they 
are neither peculiar to the eternal snows of the former, nor the burning 
sun of the latter. 

"They are not the creatures of climate, neither are they confined to the 
slave-holding or non-slave-holding States. 

"Alike they spring up among the pleasure-hunting Southerners and the 
order-loving citizens of the land of steady habits. 



3o8 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

"Whatever, then, their cause may be, it is common to the whole country. 

"Many great and good men, sufficiently qualified for any task they may 
undertake, may ever be found, whose ambition would aspire to nothing 
beyond a seat in Congress, a gubernatorial or Presidential chair; but such 
belong not to the family of the lion, or the tribe of the eagle. 

"What! Think you these places would satisfy an Alexander, a Csesar, 
or a Napoleon? Never! 

"Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto 
unexplored. 

"It seeks no distinction in adding story to story upon the monuments 
of fame, erected to the memory of others. 

"Its denies that it is glory enough to serve under any chief. 

"It scorns to tread in the footpaths of any predecessor, however illus- 
trious. 

"It thirsts and burns for distinction, and, if possible, it w'ill have it, 
whether at the expense of emancipating the slaves or enslaving freemen. 

"Another reason which once was, but which to the same extent is now 
no more, has done much in maintaining our institutions thus far. 

"I mean the powerful influence which the interesting scenes of the 
Revolution had upon the passions of the people, as distinguished from their 
judgment. 

"But these histories are gone. They can be read no more forever. They 
were a fortress of strength. 

"But what the invading foeman could never do, the silent artillery of 
time has done, — the levelling of the walls. 

"They were a forest of giant oaks, but the all-resisting hurricane swept 
over them and left only here and there a lone trunk, despoiled of its verdure, 
shorn of its foliage, unshading and unshaded, to murmur in a few more 
gentle breezes and to combat with its mutilated limbs a few more rude 
storms, then to sink and be no more. 

"They were the pillars of the temple of liberty, and now that they have 
crumbled away, that temple must fall, unless we, the descendants, supply 
the places with pillars hewn from the same solid quarry of sober reason. 

"Passion has helped us, but can do so no more. It will in future be 
our enemy. 

"Reason — cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason — must furnish all 
the materials for our support and defense. 

"Let those materials be molded into general intelligence, sound moral- 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



3<^9 



y, and, in particular, a reverence for the Constitution and the laws; and 
len our country shall continue to improve, and our nation, revering his 
ime, and permitting no hostile foot to pass or desecrate his resting-place, 
lall be the first to hear the last trump that shall awaken our Washington. 
"Upon these let the proud fabric of freedom rest as the rock of its basis, 
id as truly as has been said of the only greater institution, 'the gates of hell 
lall not prevail against it.' " 



TOM COEWIN'S LATEST STORY. 



One of Mr. Lincoln's warm friends was Dr. Robert Boal. of Lacon, 
inois. Telling of a visit he paid to the White House soon after Mr. Lin- 
iln's inauguration, he said : "I found him the same Lincoln as a struggling 

lawyer and politician that I did in Washing- 
ton as President of the United States, yet 
there was a dignity and self-possession about 
him in his high official authority. I paid him 
a second call in the evening. He had thrown 
-V off his reserve somewhat, and would walk up 
J>. and down the room with his hands to his sides 
Ci^^ y and laugh at the joke he was telling, or at 
^ JiVy"^ one that was told to him. I remember one 
"^"^^^ story he told to me on this occasion. 

"Tom Corwin, of Ohio, had been down to 

Alexan.dria, Va., that day and had come back 

and told Lincoln a story which pleased him 

so much that he broke out in a hearty laugh 

and said: T must tell you Tom Corwin's 

latest. Tom met an old man at i\.Iexandria 

who knew George Washington, and he told 

Tom that George Washington often swore. 

Now, Corwin's father had always held the 

father of our country up as a faultless person 

and told his son to follow in his footsteps. 

" ' "Well," said Corwin, "when I heard that George Washington was 

^dieted to the vices and infirmities of man, I felt so relieved that I just 

outed for joy." ' " 




310 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

"CATCH 'EM AUD CHEAT 'EM." 

The lawyers on the circuit traveled by Lincoln got together one night 
and tried him on the charge of accepting fees which tended to lower the 
established rates. It was the understood rule that a lawyer should accept 
all the client could be induced to pay. The tribunal was known as "The 
Ogmathorial Court." 

Ward Lamon, his law partner at the time, tells about it : 

"Lincoln was found guilty and fined for his awful crime against the 
pockets of his brethren of the bar. The fine he paid with great good humor, 
and then kept the crowd of lawyers in uproarious laughter until after mid- 
night. 

"He persisted in his revolt, however, declaring that with his consent his 
firm should never during its life, or after its dissolution, deserve the repu- 
tation enjoyed by those shining lights of the profession, 'Catch 'em and 
Cheat 'em.' " 



A JTIRYMAN'S SCORN. 



Lincoln had assisted in the prosecution of a man who had robbed his 
neighbor's hen roosts. Jogging home along the highway with the foreman 
of the jury that had convicted the hen stealer, he was complimented by 
Lincoln on the zeal and ability of the prosecution, and remarked: "Why, 
when the country was young, and I was stronger than I am now, I didn't 
mind packing off a sheep now and again, but stealing hens!" The good 
man's scorn could not find words to express his opinion of a man who would 
steal hens. 



HE "BROKE" TO WIN. 

A lawyer, who was a stranger to Mr. Lincoln, once expressed to General 
Linder the opinion that Mr. Lincoln's practice of telling stories to the jury 
was a waste of time. 

"Don't lay that flattering unction to your soul," Linder answered; "Lfn- 
coln is like Tansey's horse, he 'breaks to win.' " 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



3" 



WANTED HER CHILDREN BACK. 



On the 3rd of January, 1863, "Harper's Weekly" appeared with a car- 
bon representing Columbia indignantly demanding of President Lincoln 
nd Secretary of iWar Stanton that they restore to her those of her sons 
illed in battle. Below the picture is the reading matter : 

COLUMBIA: "Where are my 15,000 sons — murdered at Fredericks- 
urg?" 



LINCOLN: "This reminds me of a little joke " 

COLUMBIA: "Go tell your joke at Springfield!!" 

The battle of Fredericksburg was fought on December 13th, 1862, 



i'S — Q 




-"'-^^ 



:tween General Burnside, commanding the Army of the Potomac, and 
eneral Lee's force. The Union troops, time and again, assaulted the heights 
here the Confederates had taken position, but were driven back with fright- 
il losses. The enemy, being behind breastworks, suffered comparatively 
:tle. At the beginning of the fight the Confederate line was broken, but 
le result of the engagement was disastrous to the Union cause. Burnside 
id one thousand one hundred and fifty-two killed, nine thousand one hun- 
red and one wounded, and three thousand two hundred and thirty-four miss- 



312 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

ing, a total of thirteen thousand seven hundred and seventy-one. General 
Lee's losses, all told, were not much more than five thousand men. 

Burnside had succeeded McQelian in command of the Army of the Poto- 
mac, mainly, it was said, through the influence of Secretary of War Stanton. 
Three months before, McClellan had defeated Lee at Antietam, the bloodiest 
battle of the War, Lee's losses footing up more than thirteen thousand men. 
At Fredericksburg, Burnside had about one hundred and twenty thousand 
men; at Antietam, McClellan had about eighty thousand. It has been main- 
tained that Burnside should not have fought this battle, the chances of suc- 
cess being so few. 



SIX FEET FOUR AT SEVENTEEN. 

"Abe's" school teacher, Crawford, endeavored to teach his pupils some 
of the manners of the "polite society" of Indiana — 1823 or so. This was a 
part of his system : 

One of the pupils would retire, and then come in as a stranger, and 
another pupil would have to introduce him to all the members of the school 
in what was considered "good manners." 

As "Abe" wore a linsey-woolsey shirt, buckskin breeches which were toe 
short and very tight, and low shoes, and was tall and awkward, he no doubt 
created considerable merriment when his turn came. He was growing at a 
fearful rate; he was fifteen years of age, and two years later attained his full 
height of six feet four inches. 



HAD EESPECT FOE THE EGGS. 

Early in 1831, "Abe" was one of the guests of honor at a boat-launching, 
he and two others having built the craft. The affair was a notable one, people 
being present from the territory surrounding. A large party came from 
Springfield with an ample supply of whisky, to give the boat and its builders 
a send-off. It was a sort of bipartisan mass-meeting, but there was one pre- 
vailing spirit, that bom of rye and corn. Speeches were made in the best 
of feeling, some in favor of Andrew Jackson and some in favor of Henry 
Clay. Abraham Lincoln, the cock, told a number of funny stories, and it is 



YARNS AND STORIES. 313 

recorded that they were not of too refined a character to suit the taste of his 
audience. A sleight-of-hand performer was present, and among other tricks 
performed, he fried some eggs in Lincoln's hat. Judge Herndon says, as 
explanatory to the delay in passing up the hat for the experiment, Lincoln 
drolly observed : "It was out of respect for the eggs, not care for my hat." 



HOW WAS THE MILK UPSET? 

William G. Greene, an old-time friend of Lincoln, was a student at Illinois 
College, and one summer brought home with him, on a vacation, Richard 
Yates (afterwards Governor of Illinois) and some other boys, and, in order 
to entertain them, took them up to see Lincoln. 

He found him in his usual position and at his usual occupation — flat on 
his back, on a cellar door, reading a newspaper. This was the manner in 
which a President of the United States and a Governor of Illinois became 
acquainted with each other. 

Greene says Lincoln repeated the whole of Burns, and a large quantity 
of Shakespeare for the entertainment of the college boys, and, in return, 
was invited to dine with them on bread and milk. How he managed to upset 
his bowl of milk is not a matter of history, but the fact is that he did so, as is 
the further fact that Greene's mother, who loved Lincoln, tried to smooth 
over the accident and relieve the young man's embarrassment. 



"PULLED FODDER " FOR A BOOK. 

Once "Abe" borrowed Weems' "Life of Washington" from Joseph 
Crawford, a neighbor. "Abe" devoured it; read it and re-read it, and when 
asleep put it by him between the logs of the wall. One night a rain storm 
wet it through and ruined it. 

"I've no money," said "Abe," when reporting the disaster to Crawford, 
"but I'll work it out." 

"All right," was Crawford's response; "yon pull fodder for three days, 
an' the book is your'n." 

"Abe" pulled the fodder, but he never forgave Crawford for putting so 
much work upon him. He never lost an opportunity to crack a joke at his 
expense, and the name "Blue-nose Crawford" "Abe" applied to him stuck to 
him throughout his life. 



314 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

PRAISES HIS RIVAL FOR OFFICE. 

When Mr. Lincoln was a candidate for the Legislature, it was the prac- 
tice at that date in Illinois for two rival candidates to travel over the district 
together. The custom led to much good-natured raillery between them; 
and in such contests Lincoln was rarely, if ever, worsted. He could even 
turn the generosity of a rival to account by his whimsical treatment. 

On one occasion, says Mr. Weir, a former resident of Sangamon county, 
he had driven out from Springfield in company with a political opponent to 
engage in joint debate. The carriage, it seems, belonged to his opponent. 
In addressing the gathering of farmers that met them, Lincoln was lavish 
in praise of the generosity of his friend. 

"I am too poor to own a carriage," he said, "but my friend has generously 
invited me to ride with him. I want you to vote for me if you will ; but if 
not then vote for my opponent, for he is a fine man." 

His extravagant and persistent praise of his opponent appealed to the 
sense of humor in his rural audience, to whom his inability to own a carriage 
was by no means a disqualification. 



ONE THING "ABE" DIDN'T LOVE. 

Lincoln admitted that he was not particularly energetic when it came 
to real hard work. 

"My father," said he one day, "taught me liow to work, but not to love 
it. I never did like to work, and I don't deny it. I'd rather read, tell stories, 
crack jokes, talk, laugh — anything but work." 



THE MODESTY OF GENIUS. 

The opening of the year i860 found Mr. Lincoln's name freely men- 
tioned in connection with the Republican nomination for the Presidency. 
To be classed with Seward, Chase, McLean, and other celebrities, was 
enough to stimulate any Illinois lawyer's pride: but in Mr. Lincoln's case, 
if it had any such effect, he was most artful in concealing it. "Now and then, 




JOHN M, SCHOFIELD. Lieutenant-Genera! commanding the United State? Army. 
retired in 1895, was one of the younger Union generals in the Civil War, but his record was 
most excellent. As he showed good judgment in the management of men he was much 
esteemed by President Lincoln. He served with General W. T. Sherman in the .Atlanta 
campaign, and did much to defeat the Confederates at the battle of Franklin. During 
Secretary Stanton's suspension ("68-'6c)) he acted as Secretary of War. Lieutenant General 
Schofield was born in New York State in 1831, and is a graduate of West Point. (31s) 




WINFIKLD SCOTT HANCOCK, "the Superb." commanded the division which re- 
pelled the Confederate charge led by General Pickett at Gettysburg, and would not leave 
the field of battle, although severely wounded. President Lincoln thought highly of his 
fighting qualities, but did not regard him as so capable as Sherman or Sheridan. He was 
the Democratic candidate for President in 1880, being defeated by James A. Garfield. 
General Hancock was born in Pennsylvania in 18^4, and died at Governor's Island in 1886, 
while in command of the Military Division of the Atlantic. (316) 



YARNS AND STORIES. 317 

some ardent friend, an editor, for example, would run his name up to the 
masthead, but in all cases he discouraged the attempt. 

"In regard to the matter you spoke of," he answered one man who pro- 
posed his name, "I beg you will not give it a further mention. Seriously, 
I do not think I am fit for the Presidency." 



WHY SHE MARRIED HIM. 

There was a "social" at Lincoln's house in Springfield, and "Abe" intro- 
duced his wife to Ward Lamon, his law partner. Lamon tells the story 
in these words: 

"After introducing me to Mrs. Lincoln, he left us in conversation. I 
remarked to her that her husband was a great favorite in the eastern part 
of the State, where I had been stopping. 

" 'Yes,' she replied, 'he is a great favorite everywhere. He is to be 
President of the United States some day; if I had not thought so I never 
would have married him, for you can see he is not pretty. 

" 'But look at him, doesn't he look as if he would make a magnificent 
President?'" 



NIAGARA FALLS. 

(Written By Abraham Lincoln.) 

The following article on Niagara Falls, in Mr. Lincoln's handwrising, 
was found among his papers after his death : 

"Niagara Falls ! By what mysterious power is it that millions and 
millions are drawn from all parts of the world to gaze upon Niagara Falls? 
There is no mystery about the thing itself. Every effect is just as any 
intelligent man, knowing the causes, would anticipate without seeing it. 
If the water moving onward in a great river reaches a point where there is 
a perpendicular jog of a hundred feet in descent in the bottom of the river, 
it is plain the water will have a violent and continuous plunge at that point. 
It is also plain, the water, thus plunging, will foam and roar, and send up 
a mist continuously, in which last, during sunshine, there will be perpetual 
rainbows. The mere physical of Niagara Falls is only this. Yet this is really 
a very small part of that world's wonder. Its power to excite reflection 



3i8 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

and emotion is its great charm. The geologist wih demonstrate that the 
phmge, or fall, ^vas once at Lake Ontario, and has worn its way back to its 
present position; he will ascertain how fast it is wearing now, and so get 
a basis for determining how long it has been wearing back from Lake 
Ontario, and finally demonstrate by it that this world is at least fourteen 
thousand years old. A philosopher of a slightly different turn will say, 
'Niagara Falls is only the lip of the basin out of which pours all the surplus 
water which rains down on two or three hundred thousand square miles of 
the earth's surface.' He will estimate with approximate accuracy that five 
hundred thousand tons of water fall with their ful! weight a distance of a 
hundred feet each minute — thus exerting a force equal to the lifting of the 
same weight, through the same space, in the same time. . . . 

"But still there is more. It calls up the indefinite past. When Columbus 
first sought this continent — when Christ suffered on the cross — when Moses 
led Israel through the Red Sea — nay, even when Adam first came from 
the hand of his Maker; then, as now, Niagara was roaring here. The eyes 
of that species of extinct giants whose bones fill the mounds of America have 
gazed on Niagara, as ours do now. Contemporary with the first race of 
men, and older than the first man, Niagara is strong and fresh to-day as ten 
thousand years ago. The Mammoth and Mastodon, so long dead that frag- 
ments of their monstrous bones alone testify that they ever lived, have 
gazed on Niagara — in that long, long time never still for a single moment 
(never dried), never froze, never slept, never rested." 



MADE IT HOT FOR LINCOLN. 

A lady relative, who lived for two years with the Lincolns, said that 
Mr. Lincoln was in the habit of lying on the floor with the back of a chair 
for a pillow when he read. 

One evening, when in this position in the hall, a knock was heard at the 
front door, and, although in his shirtsleeves, he answered the call. Two 
ladies were at the door, whom he invited into the parlor, notifying them 
in his open, familiar way, that he would "trot the women folks out." 

Mrs. Lincoln, from an adjoining room, witnessed the ladies' entrance, 
and, overhearing her husband's jocose expression, her indignation was so 
instantaneous she made the situation exceedingly interesting for him, and 



YARNS AXD STORIES. 



319 



lie was glad to retreat from the hovise. He did not return till very late at 
night, and then slipped quietly in at a rear door. 



WOULDN'T HOLD TITLE AGAINST HIM. 

During the rebellion the Austrian Minister to the United States Govern- 
ment introduced to the President a count, a subject of the Austrian gov- 
ernment, who was desirous of obtaining a position in the American army. 

Being introduced by the ac- 
credited ^Minister of Austria 
he required no further 
recommendation to secure 
the appointment: but, fear- 
ingthat his importance might 
not be fully appreciated by 
the republican President, 
the count was particular in 
impressing the fact upon 
him that he bore that title, 
and that his family was an- 
cient and highly respectable. 
President Lincoln listened 
with attention, until this 
unnecessary commendation 
was mentioned; then, with a 
merry twinkle in his eye, he 
tapped the aristocratic sprig 
of hereditar;' nobility on the 
shoulder in the most fatherly 
way, as if the gentleman had 
made a confession of some 
unfortunate circumstance 
connected with his lineage, 
for which he was in no way 
responsible, and said : 

"Never mind, you shall be 
treated with just as much 




320 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

consideration for all that. I will see to it that your bearing a title shan't 
hurt you." 



ONIY ONE nFE TO IIVE. 

A young man living in Kentucky had been enticed into the rebel army. 
After a few months he became disgusted, and managed to make his way 
back home. Soon after his arrival, the Union officer in command of the mili- 
tary stationed in the town had him arrested as a rebel spy, and, after a 
military trial he was condemned to be hanged. 

President Lincoln was seen by one of his friends from Kentucky, who 
explained his errand and asked for mercy. "Oh, yes, I understand; some 
one has been crying, and worked upon your feelings, and you have come 
here to work on mine." 

His friend then went more into detail, and assured him of his belief in the 
truth of the story. After some deliberation, Mr. Lincoln, evidently scarcely 
more than half convinced, but still preferring to err on the side of mercy, 
replied: 

"If a man had more than one life, I think a little hanging would not hurt 
this one; but after he is once dead we cannot bring him back, no matter 
how sorry we may be; so the boy shall be pardoned." 

And a reprieve was given on the spot. 



COULDN'T LOCATE HIS BIRTHPLACE. 

While the celebrated artist. Hicks, was engaged in painting Mr. Lin- 
coln's portrait, just after the former's first nomination for the Presidency, 
he asked the great statesman if he could point out the precise spot where he 
was born. 

Lincoln thought the matter over for a day or two, and then gave the 
artist the following memorandum : 

"Springfield, 111., June 14, i860. 

"I was born February 12, 1809, in then Hardin county, Kentucky, at a 
point within the now county of Larue, a mile or a mile and a half from where 
Hodgen's mill now is. My parents being dead, and my own memory not 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



321 



serving, I know no means of identifying the precise locality. It was on 
Nolen Creek. ' A. LINCOLN." 



"SAMBO" WAS "AFEASED." 

In his message to Congress in December, 1864. just after his re-election. 
President Lincoln, in his message of December 6tli, let himself out, in plain, 
unmistakable terms, to the effect that the freedmen should never be placed 
in bondage again. "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper" of December 
24th, 1864, printed the car- 
toon we herewith reproduce, 
the text underneath running 
in this way: 

UNCLE ABE: "Sambo, 
you are not handsome, any 
more than myself, but as to 
sending you back to your old 
master, I'm not the man to 
do it — and, what's more, I 
won't." (Vide President's 
message.) 

Congress, at the previous 
sitting, had neglected to pass 
the resolution for the Consti- 
tutional amendment prohib- 
iting slavery, but, on the 31st t 
of January, 1865. the resolu- 
tion was finally adopted, and 
the United States Constitution soon had the new feature as one of its clauses, 
the necessary number of State Legislatures approving it. President Lin- 
coln regarded the passage of this resolution by Congress as most important. 
as the amendment, in his mind, covered v>hatever defects a rigid construction 
of the Constitution might find in his Emancipation Proclamation. 

After the latter was issued, negroes were allowed to enlist in the Army, 
and they fought well and bravely. After the War, in the reorganization of 
the Regular Army, four regiments of colored men were provided for — the 
Ninth and Tenth Cavalry and the Twenty-fourth a"nd Twenty-fifth Infantry. 




322 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

In the cartoon. Sambo has evidently been asking "Uncle Abe" as to the 
probability or possibility of his being again enslaved. 



WHEN MONEY MIGHT BE USED. 

Some Lincoln enthusiast in Kansas, with much more pretensions than 
power, wrote him in March, i860, proposing to furnish a Lincoln delegation 
from that State to the Chicago Convention, and suggesting that Lincoln 
should pay the legitimate expenses of organizing, electing, and taking to the 
convention the promised Lincoln delegates. 

To this Lincoln replied that "in the main, the use of money is wrong, 
but for certain objects in a political contest the use of some is both right and 
indispensable." And he added: "If you shall be appointed a delegate to 
Chicago, I will furnish $100 to bear the expenses of the trip." 

He heard nothing further from the Kansas man until he saw an announce- 
ment in the newspapers that Kansas had elected delegates and instructed 
them for Seward. 



"ABE" WAS NO BEAUTY. 

Lincoln's military service in the Black Hawk war had increased his 
popularity at New Salem, and he was put up as a candidate for the Legisla- 
ture. 

A. Y. Ellis describes his personal appearance at this time as follows : "He 
wore a mixed jean coat, claw-hammer style, short in the sleeves and bob- 
tailed; in fact, it was so short in the tail that he could not sit on it; flax and 
tow linen pantaloons and a straw hat. I think he wore a vest, but do not 
remember how it looked; he wore pot-metal boots." 



"HE'S JUST BEAUTIFUL." 

Lincoln's great love for children easily won their confidence. 
A little girl, who had been told that the President was very homely, was 
taken by her father to see the President at the White House. 



YARNS AND STQRIES. 



323 



Lincoln took her upon his knee and chatted with her lor a moment in 
his merry way, when s!ie turned to lier father and exclaimed: 
"Oh, Pa! he isn't ugly at all: he's just beautiful!" 



BIG ENOUGH HOG FOR HIM. 

To a curiosity-seeker who desired a permit to pass the lines to visit the 
field of Bull Run, after the first battle, Lincoln made the following reply : 

"A man in Cortlandt county 



raised a porker of such un- 
usual size that strangers 
went out of their way to 
see it. 

"One of them the other 
day met the old gentleman 
and inquired about the ani- 
mal. 

" 'Wall, yes,' the old fel- 
low said, 'I've got such a 
critter, mi'ty big un; but I 
guess I'll have to charge 
you about a shillin' for look- 
in" at him.' 

"The stranger looked at 
the old man for a minute or 
so, pulled out the desired coin, handed it to him and started to go off. 'Hold 
on,' said the other, 'don't you want to see the hog?' 

" 'No,' said the stranger: 'I have seen as big a hog as I want to see !' 
"And you will find that fact the case with yourself, if you should happen 
to see a few live rebels there as well as dead ones." 




"ABE" OFFERS A SPEECH FOR SOMETHING TO EAT. 

When Lincoln's special train from Springfield to Washington reached 
the Illinois State line, there was a stop for dinner. There wa? such a crowd 
th.nt Lincoln cou!d ^carrclv rea-Mi the dining-room. 



324 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

"Gentlemen," said he, as he surveyed the crowd, "if you will make me a 
little path, so that I can get through and get something to eat, I will make 
you a speech when I get back." 



THEY UNDERSTOOD EACIT OTHER. 

When complaints were made to President Lincoln by victims of Secre- 
tary of War Stanton's harshness, rudeness, and refusal to be obliging — partic- 
ularly in cases where Secretary Stanton had refused to honor Lincoln's passes 
through the lines — the President would often remark to this effect : 

"I cannot always be sure that permits given by me ought to be granted. 
There is an understanding between myself and Stanton that when I send a 
request to him which cannot consistently be granted, he is to refuse to honor 
it. This he sometimes does." 



PEW FENCE RAILS LEFT. 

"There won't be a tar barrel left in Illinois to-night," said Senator Ste- 
phen A. Douglas, in Washington, to his Senatorial friends, who asked him, 
when the news of the nomination of Lincoln reached them, "Who is this 
man Lincoln, anyhow?" 

Douglas was right. Not only the tar barrels, but half the fences of the 
State of Illinois went up in the fire of rejoicing. 



THE "GREAT SNOW" OF 1830-31. 

In explanation of Lincoln's great popularity, D. W. Bartlett, in his "Life 
and Speeches of Abraham Lincoln," published in i860, makes this state- 
ment of "Abe's" efficient service to his neighbors in the "Great Snow" of 
1830-31 : 

"The deep snow which occurred in 1830-31 was one of the chief troubles 
endured by the early settlers of central and southern Illinois. Its conse- 
quences lasted through several years. The people were illy prepared to 



YARNS A.VD STORIES. 325 

meet it, as the weather had been mild and pleasant — unprecedentedly so up 
to Christmas — when a snow-storm set in which lasted two days, something 
never before known even among the traditions of the Indians, and never 
approached in the weather of any winter since. 

"The pioneers who came into the State (then a territory) in 1800 
. . . say the average depth of snow was never, previous to 1830, more 
than knee-deep to an ordinary man, while it was breast-high all that winter. 
. . . It became crusted over, so as, in some cases, to bear teams. Cattle 
and horses perished, the winter wheat was killed, the meager stock of pro- 
visions ran out, and during the three months' continuance of the snow, ice 
and continuous cold weather the most wealthy settlers came near starving, 
while some of the poor ones actually did. It was in the midst of such scenes 
that Abraham Lincoln attained his majority, and commenced his career of 
bold and manly independence. 

"Communication between house and house was often entirely obstructed 
for teams, so that the young and strong men had to do all the traveling on 
foot; carrying from one neighbor what of his store he could spare to another, 
and bringing back in return something of his store sorely needed. Men 
living five, ten, twenty and thirty miles apart were called 'neighbors' then. 
Young Lincoln was always ready to perform these acts of humanity, and 
was foremost in the counsels of the settlers when their troubles seemed 
gathering like a thick cloud about them." 



CREDITOR PAID DEBTOR'S DEBT. 

A certain rich man in Springfield, Illinois, sued a poor attorney for $2.50, 
and Lincoln was asked to prosecute the case. Lincoln urged the creditor to 
let the matter drop, adding, "You can make nothing out of him, and it will 
cost you a good deal more than the debt to bring suit." The creditor was 
still determined to have his way, and threatened to seek some other attorney. 
Lincoln then said, "Well, if you are determined that suit should be brought, 
I will bring it; but my charge will be $10." 

The money was paid him, and peremptory orders were given that the 
suit be brought that day. After the client's departure Lincoln went out 
of the office, returning in about an hour with an amused look on his face. 
Asked what pleased him. he replied, "I brought suit against , and 



326 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

then hunted him up, told him what I had done, handed him half of the $io, 
and we went over to the squire's ofifice. He confessed judgment and paid 
the bill." 

Lincoln added that he didn't see any other way to make things satis- 
factory for his client as well as the other. 



HELPED OUT THE SOLDIERS. 

Judge Thomas B. Bryan, of Chicago, a member of the Union Defense 
Committee during the War, related the following concerning the original 
copy of the Emancipation Proclamation : 

"I asked Mr. Lincoln for the original draft of the Proclamation," said 
Judge Bryan, "for the benefit of our Sanitary Fair, in 1865. He sent it 
and accompanied it with a note in which he said : 

" 'I had intended to keep this paper, but if it will help the soldiers, I 
give it to you.' 

"The paper was put up at auction and brought $3,000. The buyer after- 
ward sold it again to friends of Mr. Lincoln at a greatly advanced price, and 
it was placed in the rooms of the Chicago Historical Society, where it was 
burned in the great fire of 1871." 



EVERY FELLOW FOR HIMSELF. 

An elegantly dressed young Virginian assured Lincoln that he had done 
a great deal of hard manual labor in his time. Much amused at this solemn 
declaration, Lincoln said: 

"Oh, yes; you Virginians shed barrels of perspiration while standing 
oflf at a distance and superintending the work your slaves do for you. It is 
different with us. Here it is every fellow for himself, or he doesn't get there." 



"BUTCHER-KNIFE BOYS" AT THE POLLS. 

AVheli' young Lincoln had fully demonstrated that he was the champion 
^vrestler in the country surrounding New Salem, the men of "de gang" at 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



327 



Clary's Grove, wliose leader "Abe" had downed, were his sworn political 
friends and allies. 

Their work at the polls was remarkably effective. When the "Butcher- 
knife boys,"' the "huge-pawed boys," and the "half-horse-half-alligator men" 
declared for a candidate the latter was never defeated. 



NO "SECOND COMING ' FOR SPRINGFIELD. 

Soon after the opening of Congress in 1861, Mr. Shannon, from Cali- 
fornia, made the customary call at the White House. In the conversation 
that ensued, Mr Shannon said : "Mr. President, I met an old friend of yours 

in California last summer, a Mr. Campbell, 
who had a good deal to say of your Spring- 
field life." 

"Ah!" returned Mr. Lincoln, "I am glad 
to hear of him. Campbell used to be a dry 
fellow in those days," he continued. "For 
a time he was Secretary of State. One day 
during the legislative vacation, a meek, 
cadaverous-looking man, with a white neck- 
cloth, introduced himself to him at his ofifice, 
and, stating that he had been informed that 
]\Ir. C. had the letting of the hall of repre- 
sentatives, he wished to secure it, if possible, 
for a course of lectures he desired to deliver 
in Springfield. 

" 'May I ask,' said the Secretary, 'what is 
to be the subject of your lectures?' 

" 'Certainly,' was the reply, with a very 
solemn expression of countenance. 'The 
course I wish to deliver is on the Second 
Coming of our Lord.' 

" 'It is of no use,' said C. ; 'if you will take 

my advice, you will not waste your time in 

this city. It is my private opinion that, if 

the Lord has been in Springfield once. He will never come the second 

time !' " 




328 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

HOW HE WON A FRIEND. 

J. S. Moulton, of Chicago, a master in chancery and influential in public 
affairs, looked upon the candidacy of JMr. Lincoln for President as something 
in the nature of a joke. He did not rate the Illinois man in the same class 
with the giants of the East. In fact he had expressed himself as by no means 
friendly to the Lincoln cause. 

Still he had been a good friend to Lincoln and had often met him when 
the Springfield lawyer came to Chicago. Mr. Lincoln heard of Moulton's 
attitude, but did not see Moulton until after the election, when the President- 
elect came to Chicago and was tendered a reception at one of the big hotels. 

Moulton went up in the line to pay his respects to the newly-elected 
chief magistrate, purely as a formality, he explained to his companions. As 
Moulton came along the line Mr. Lincoln grasped Moulton's hand with his 
right, and with his left took the master of chancery by the shoulder and 
pulled him out of the line. 

"You don't belong in that line, Moulton," said Mr. Lincoln. "You 
belong here by me." 

Everyone at the reception was a witness to the honoring of Moulton. 
From that hour every faculty that Moulton possessed was at the service of 
the President. A little act of kindness, skillfully bestowed, had won him; 
and he stayed on to the end. 



NEVER SUED A CLIENT. 

If a client did not pay, Lincoln did not believe in suing for the fee. 
When a fee was paid him his custom was to divide the money into two equal 
parts, put one part into his pocket, and the other into an envelope labeled 
"Herndon's share." 



THE LINCOLN HOUSEHOLD GOODS. 

It is recorded that when "Abe" was born, the household goods of his 
father consisted of a few cooking utensils, a little bedding, some carpenter 
tools, and four hundred gallons of the fierce product of the mountain still. 



varns and stories. 



329 



RUNNING THE MACHINE. 

One of the cartoon-posters issued by the Democratic National Campaign 
Committee in the fall of 1864 is given here. It had the legend, "Running the 
Machine," printed beneath; the "machine" was Secretary Chase's "Green- 
back Mill," and the mill was turning out paper money by the million to 
satisfy the demands of greedy contractors. "Uncle Abe" is pictured as about 
to tell one of his funny stories, of which the scene "reminds" him; Secretary 




of War Stanton is receiving a message from the front, describing a great vic- 
tory, in which one prisoner and one gun were taken; Secretary of State 
Seward is handing an order to a messenger for the arrest of a man who had 
called him a "humbug," the habeas corpus being suspended throughout the 
Union at that period; Secretary of the Navy Welles — the long-haired, long- 
bearded man at the head of the table — is figuring out a naval problem ; at the 
side of the table, opposite "Uncle Abe," are seated two Government con- 
tractors, shouting for "more greenbacks," and at the extreme left is Secretary 



330 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

of the Treasury Fessenden (who succeeded Chase when the latter was made 
Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court), who complains that he 
cannot satisfy the greed of the contractors for "more greenbacks," although 
he is grinding away at the mill day and night. 



WAS "BOSS" WHEN NECESSARY. 

Lincoln was the actual head of the adnnnistration, and whenever he chose 
to do so he controlled Secretary of War Stanton as well as the other Cabinet 
ministers. 

Secretary Stanton on one occasion said : "Now, Mr. President, those are 
the facts and you must see that your order cannot be executed." 

Lincoln replied in a somewhat positive tone: "Mr. Secretary, I reckon 
you'll have to execute the order." 

Stanton replied with vigor: "Mr. President, I cannot do it. This order 
is an improper one, and I cannot execute it." 

Lincoln fixed his eyes upon Stanton, and, in a firm voice and accent that 
clearly showed his determination, said: "Mr. Secretary, it will have to be 
done." 

It was done. 



I 

I 



"RATHER STARVE THAN SWINDIE." 

Ward Lamon, once Lincoln's law partner, relates a story which places 
Lincoln's high sense of honor in a prominent light. In a certain case, Lin- 
coln and Lamon being retained by a gentleman named Scott, Lamon put 
the fee at $250, and Scott agreed to pay it. Says Lamon : 

"Scott expected a contest, but, to his surprise, the case was tried inside 
of twenty minutes; our success was complete. Scott was satisfied, and 
cheerfully paid over the money to me inside the bar, Lincoln looking on. 
Scott then went out, and Lincoln asked, 'What did you charge that man?' 

"I told him $250. Said he : 'Lamon, that is all wrong. The service was 
not worth that sum. Give him back at least half of it.' 

"I protested that the fee was fixed in advance; that Scott was perfectly 
satisfied, and had so expressed himself. 'That may be,' retorted Lincoln, 
with a look of distress and of undisguised displeasure, 'but I am not satisiied. 



YARNS AND STORIES. 331 

This is positively wrong. Go, call him back and return half the money at 
least, or I will not receive one cent of it for my share.' 

"I did go, and Scott was astonished when I handed back half the fee. 

"This conversation had attracted the attention of the lawyers and the 
court. Judge David Davis, then on our circuit bench (afterwards Associate 
Justice on the United States Supreme bench), called Lincoln to him. The 
judge never could whisper, but in this instance he probably did his best. 
At all events, in attempting to whisper to Lincoln he trumpeted his rebuke 
in about these words, and in rasping tones that could be heard all over the 
court-room: 'Lincoln, I have been watching you and Lamon. You are 
impoverishing this bar by your picayune charges of fees, and the lawyers 
have reason to complain of you. You are now almost as poor as Lazarus, 
and if you don't make people pay you more for your services you will die as 
poor as Job's turkey !' 

"Judge O. L. Davis, the leading lawyer in that part of the State, promptly 
applauded this malediction from the bench; but Lincoln was immovable. 

" "That money,' said he, 'comes out of the pocket of a poor, demented 
girl, and I would rather starve than swindle her in this manner.' " 



DON'T AIM TOO HIGH. 

"Billy, don't shoot too high — aim lower, and the common people will 
understand you," Lincoln once said to a brother lawyer. 

"They are the ones you want to reach — at least, they are the ones you 
ought to reach. 

"The educated and refined people will understand you, anyway. If you 
aim too high, your idea will go over the heads of the masses, and only hit 
those who need no hitting." 



NOT MUCH AT RAIL-SPLITTING. 

One who afterward became one of Lincoln's most devoted friends and 
adherents tells this story regarding the manner in which Lincoln received 
him when they met for the first time: 

"After a comical survey of my fashionable toggery, — my swallow-tail 



332 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

coat, white neck-cloth, and ruffled shirt (an astonishing outfit for a young 
limb of the law in that settlement), Lincoln said : 

" 'Going to try your hand at the law, are you? I should know at a glance 
that you were a Virginian; but I don't think you would succeed at splitting 
rails. That was my occupation at your age, and I don't think I have taken as 
much pleasure in anything else from that day to this.' " 



GAVE THE SOLDIER THE PREFEEENCE. 

July 27th, 1863, Lincoln wrote the Postmaster-General: 

"Yesterday little indorsements of mine went to you in two cases of post- 
masterships, sought for widows whose husbands have fallen in the battles 
of this war. 

"These cases, occurring on the same day, brought me to reflect more 
attentively than what I had before done as to what is fairly due from us 
here in dispensing of patronage toward the men who, by fighting our bat- 
tles, bear the chief burden of saving our country. 

"My conclusion is that, other claims and qualifications being equal, they 
have the right, and this is especially applicable to the disabled soldier and 
the deceased soldier's family." 



THE PRESIDENT WAS NOT SCARED. 

When told how uneasy all had been at his going to Richmond, Lincoln 
replied: 

"Why, if any one else had been President and had gone to Richmond, I 
would have been alarmed; but I was not scared about myself a bit." 



JEFF. DAVIS' REPLY TO LINCOLN. 

On the 20th of July, 1864, Horace Greeley crossed into Canada to confer 
with refugee rebels at Niagara. He bore with him this paper from the Presi- 
dent: 

"To Whom It May Concern : Any proposition which embraces the res- 
toration of peace, the integrity of the whole T.Tnion, and the abandonment 








WINFIELD SCOTT was the Lieutenant-General commanding the United States 
Army at the beginning of the Civil War, and President Lincoln was in frequent consultation 
with him regarding the defenses of the National Capital. Age was beginning to tell upon 
the veteran, howtvei, and he resigned to give way to General McClellan, who succeeded 
him in November. 1861. President Lincoln had much faith in General Scott's sagacity. 
General Scott was a Virginian, born in 17S6, was the hero of the Mexican War, stood by 
Ihe Union, and died in 1866. He was captain of artillery in the War of 1812. (333) 




DAVID GLASGOW FARRAGUT 
grade being created for him, possessed 



first Admiral of the United States Navy, the 
President Lincoln's complete confidence. His 
genius for fighting commanded the President's admiration. The latter, above all things, 
liked men who "knevi' their business," and went at the enemy wherever they found him. 
Farragut "knew his business," as his w.ork showed. He was born in Tenne.'-see in 1801, 
and fought in the War of 1812 on the "Essex," a vessel commanded by his father. The 
Admiral died in 1870. after having been in the service more than sixty years. (334) 



YARNS AND STORIES. 335 

of slavery, and which comes by and with an authority that can control the 
armies now at war with the United States, will be received and considered 
by the exectitive government of the United States, and will be met by liberal 
terms and other substantial and collateral points, and the bearer or bearers 
thereof shall have safe conduct both ways." 

To this Jefferson Davis replied: "We are not fighting for slavery; we 
are fighting for independence." 



UNCOLN WAS A OENTLEHAN. 

Lincoln was compelled to contend with the results of the ill-judged zeal 
of politicians, who forced ahead his flatboat and rail-splitting record, with 
the homely surroundings of his earlier days, and thus, obscured for the 
time, the other fact that, always having the heart, he had long since acquired 
the manners of a true gentleman. 

So, too, did he suffer from Eastern censors, who did not take those 
surroundings into account, and allowed nothing for his originality of char- 
acter. One of these critics heard at Washington that Mr. Lincoln, in speak- 
ing at different times of some move or thing, said "it had petered out;" that 
some other one's plan "wouldn't gibe;" and being asked if the War and the 
cause of the Union were not a great care to him, replied : 

"Yes, it is a heavy hog to hold." 

The first two phrases are so familiar here in the West that they need no 
explanation. Of the last and more pioneer one it may be said that it had a 
special force, and was peculiarly Lincoln-like in the way applied by him. 

In the early times in Illinois, those having hogs, did their own killing, 
assisted by their neighbors. Stripped of its hair, one held the carcass nearly 
perpendicular in the air, head down, while others put one point of the 
gambrel-bar through a slit in its hock, then over the string-pole, and the 
other point through the other hock, and so swung the animal clear of the 
ground. While all this was being done, it took a good man to "hold the 
hog," greasy, warmly moist, and weighing some two hundred pounds. And 
often those with the gambrel prolonged the strain, being provokingly slow, 
in hopes to make the holder drop his burden. 

This latter thought is again expressed where President Lincoln, writing 
of the peace which he hoped would "come soon, to stay; and so come as 



336 '■ABL" IJXCOLN'S 

to be worth the keeping in all future time," added that while there would 
''be some black men who can remember that with silent tongue and clenched 
teeth and steady eye, and well-poised bayonet, they have helped mankind 
on to this great consummation," he feared there would "be some white 
ones unable to forget that, with malignant heart and deceitful tongue, they 
had striven to hinder it." 

He had two seemingly opposite elements little understood by strangers, 
and which those in more intimate relations with him find difficult to explain; 
an open, boyish tongue when in a happy mood, and with this a reserve of 
power, a force of thought that impressed itself without words on observers 
in his presence. With the cares of the nation on his mind, he became more 
meditative, and lost much of his lively ways remembered "back in Illinois." 



HIS POOR KELATIONS. 

One of the most beautiful traits of !Mr. Lincoln's character was his con- 
siderate regard for the poor and obscure relatives he had left, plodding along 
in their humble ways of life. Wherever upon his circuit he found them, he 
always went to their dwellings, ate with them, and, when convenient, made 
their houses his home. He never assumed in their presence the slightest 
superiority to them. He gave them money when they needed it and he 
had it. Countless times he was known to leave his companions at the village 
hotel, after a hard day's work in the court-room, and spend the evening with 
these old friends and companions of his humbler days. On one occasion, 
when urged not to go, he replied, "Why, Aunt's heart would be broken if 
I should leave town without calling upon her;" yet, he was obliged to walk 
several miles to make the call. 



DESERTER'S SINS WASHED OUT IN BLOOD. 

This was the reply made by Lincoln to an application for the pardon of 
a soldier w^ho had shown himself brave in war, had been severely wounded, 
but afterward deserted : 

"Did you say he was once badly wounded? 

"Then, as the Scriptures say that in the shedding of blood is the remis- 
sion of sins, I guess we'll have to let him off this time." 



'ARNS AND ."^TORIES. 



337 



SURE CURE FOR BOILS. 

President Lincoln and Postmaster-General Blair were talking of the war. 

"Blair," said the President, "did you ever know that fright has sometimes 

proven a cure for boils?" "No, 
Mr. President, how is that?" "I'll 
tell you. Not long ago when a 
colonel, with his cavalry, was at 
the front, and the Rebs were mak- 
ing things rather lively for us, the 
colonel was ordered out to a 
reconnoissance. He was troubled 
at the time with a big boil where 
it made horseback riding decid- 
edly uncomfortable. He finally 
dismounted and ordered the 
troops forward without him. 
Soon he was startled by the rapid 
reports of pistols and the helter- 
skelter approach of his troops in 
full retreat before a yelling rebel 
force. He forgot everything but 
the yells, sprang into his saddle, 
and made capital time over the 
fences and ditches till safe within 
the lines. The pain from his boil 
was gone, and the boil, too, and 

the colonel swore that there was no cure for boils so sure as fright from rebel 

veils." 




PAY FOR EVERYTHING. 



When President Lincoln issued a military order, it was usually expressive, 
as the following shows : 

"War Department, Washington, July 22, '62. 

"First: Ordered that military commanders within the States of Virginia, 
South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas 
and Arkansas, in an orderly manner, seize and use any property, real or per- 



338 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

sonal, which may be necessary or convenient for their several commands, for 
supplies, or for other military purposes; and that while property may be all 
stored for proper military objects, none shall be destroyed in wantonness or 
malice. 

"Second : That militarj' and naval commanders shall employ as laborers 
within and from said States, so many persons of African descent as can be 
advantageously used for military or naval purposes, giving them reasonable 
wages for their labor. 

"Third : That as to both property and persons of African descent, 
accounts shall be kept sufficiently accurate and in detail to show quantities 
and amounts, and from whom both property and such persons shall have 
come, as a basis upon which compensation can be made in proper cases; and 
the several departments of this Government shall attend to and perform their 
appropriate parts towards the execution of these orders. 

"By order of the President." 



BASHFUL WITH LADIES. 

Judge David Davis, Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and 
United States Senator from Illinois, was one of Lincoln's most intimate 
friends. He told this story on "Abe" : 

"Lincoln was very bashful when in the presence of ladies. I remember 
once we were invited to take tea at a friend's house, and while in the parlor 
I was called to the front gate to see someone. 

"When I returned, Lincoln, who had undertaken to entertain the ladies, 
was twisting and squirming in his chair, and as bashful as a schoolboy." 



SAW HUMOR IN EVERYTHING. 

There was much that was irritating and uncomfortable in the circuit- 
riding of the Illinois court, but there was more which was amusing to a 
temperament like Lincoln's. The freedom, the long days in the open air, 
the unexpected if trivial adventures, the meeting with wayfarers and settlers 
— all was an entertainment to him. He found humor and human interest on 
the route where his companions saw nothing but commonplaces. 



YARXS AND STORIES. 



339 



"He saw the ludicrous in an assemblage of fowls," says H. C. Whitney, 
one of his fellow-itinerants, "in a man spading his garden, in a clothes-line 
full of clothes, in a group of boys, in a lot of pigs rooting at a mill door, 
in a mother duck teaching her brood to swim — in everything and anything." 



SPECIFIC FOR FOREIGN 'RASH." 

It was in the latter part of 1863 that Russia offered its friendship to the 
United States, and sent a strong fleet of warships, together with munitions 



O^LINrOLN 
1 SPECIF 

CONFtoTRATf 

RASM 

W55IA5filVE 




of war, to this country to be used in any way the President might see tit. 
Russia was not friendly to England and France, these nations having defeated 
her in the Crimea a few years before. As Great Britain and the Emperor 
of the French were continually bothering him, President Lincoln used 
Russia's kindly feeling and action as a means of keeping the other two 
powers named in a neutral state of mind. Underneath the cartoon we liere 
reproduce, which was labeled "Draw ing Things to a Head," and appeared in 
the issue of "Harper's Weekly," of November 28, 1S63, was this; 



340 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

DR. LINCOLN (to smart boy of the shop) : "Mild appHcations of Rus- 
sian Salve for our friends o\er the way, and heavy doses — and plenty of it — 
for our Southern patient I !" 

Secretary of State Sward was the "smart boy" of the shop, and "our 
friends over the way" were England and France. The latter bothered 
President Lincoln no more, but it is a fact that the Confederate privateer 
Alabama was manned almost entirely by British seamen; also, that when 
the Alabama was sunk by the Kearsarge, in the summer of 1864, the 
Confederate seamen were picked up by an English vessel, taken to South- 
ampton, and set at liberty! 



FAVORED THE OTHER SIDE. 

Lincoln was candor itself when conducting his side of a case in court. 
General Mason Brayman tells this story as an illustration : 

"It is well understood by the profession that lawyers do not read author- 
ities favoring the opposite side. I once heard Mr. Lincoln, in the Supreme 
Court of Illinois, reading from a reported case some strong points in favor 
of his argument. Reading a little too far, and before becoming aware of it, 
he-plunged into an authority against himself. 

"Pausing a moment, he drew up his shoulders in a comical way, and half 
laughing, went on, 'There, there, may it please the court, I reckon I've 
scratched up a snake. But, as I'm in for it, I guess I'll read it through.' 

"Then, in his most ingenious and matchless manner, he went on with 
his argument, and won his case, convincing the court that it was not much 
of a snake after all." 



LINCOLN AND THE * SHOW." 

Lincoln was fond of going all by himself to any little show or concert. 
He would often slip away from his fellow-lawyers and spend the entire 
evening at a little magic lantern show intended for children. 

A traveling concert company was always sure of drawing Lincoln. A 
Mrs. Hillis, a member of the "Newhall Family," and a good singer, was the 
only woman who ever seemed to exhibit any liking for him — so Lincoln 



YARNS AXD STORIES. 341 

said. He attended a negro-minstrel show in Chicago, once, where he heard 
Dixie sung. It was entirely new. and pleased him greatly. 



"MIXING" AND "MINGLING." 

An Eastern newspaper writer told how^ Lincoln, after his first nomina- 
tion, received callers, the majority of them at his law office : 

"While talking to two or three gentlemen and standing up, a very hard 
looking customer rolled in and tumbled into the only vacant chair and the 
one lately occupied by Mr. Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln's keen eye took in the 
fact, but gave no evidence of the notice. 

"Turning around at last he spoke to the odd specimen, holding out his 
hand at such a distance that our friend had to vacate the chair if he accepted 
the proffered shake. Mr. Lincoln quietly resumed his chair. 

"It was a small matter, yet one giving proof more positively than a 
larger e\ent of that peculiar way the man has of mingling with a mixed 
crowd." 



TOOK PART OP THE BLAME. 

Among the lawyers who traveled the circuit with Lincoln was Usher F. 
Linder, whose daughter, Rose Linder Wilkinson, has left many Lincoln 
reminiscences. 

"One case in which ]\Ir. Lincoln was interested concerned a member of 
my own family," said Mrs. Wilkinson. "My brother, Dan, in the heat of a 
quarrel, shot a young man named Ben Boyle and was arrested. My father 
was seriously ill with inflammatory rheumatism at the time, and could 
scarcely move hand or foot. He certainly could not defend Dan. I was his 
secretary, and I remember it was but a day or so after the shooting till letters 
of sympathy began to pour in. In the first bundle which I picked up there 
was a big letter, the handwriting on which I recognized as that of Mr. Lin- 
coln. The letter was very sympathetic. 

" T know how you feel, Linder,' it said. T can understand your anger 
as a father, added to all the other sentiments. But may we not be in a 
measure to blame? Wc have talked about the defense of criminals before 



342 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

our children; about our success in defending them; have left the impression 
that the greater the crime, the greater the triumph of securing an acquittal. 
Dan knows your success as a criminal lawyer, and he depends on you, little 
knowing that of all cases you would be of least value in this.' 

"He concluded by offering his services, an ofTer which touched my father 
to tears. 

"Mr. Lincoln tried to have Dan released on bail, but Ben Boyle's family 
and friends declared the wounded man would die, and feeling had grown so 
bitter that the judge would not grant any bail. So the case was changed 
to Marshall county, but as Ben finally recovered it was dismissed." 



THOUGHT OF LEARNING A TRADE. 

Lincoln at one time thought seriously of learning the blacksmith's trade. 
He was without means, and felt the immediate necessity of undertaking 
some business that would give him bread. While entertaining" this project 
an event occurred which, in his undetermined state of mind, seemed to open 
a way to success in another cjuarter. 

Reuben Radford, keeper of a small store in the village of New Salem, 
had incurred the displeasure of the "Clary Grove Boys," who exercised their 
"regulating" prerogatives by irregularly breaking his windows. William 
G. Greene, a friend of young Lincoln, riding by Radford's store soon after- 
ward, was hailed by him, and told that he intended to sell out. Mr. Greene 
went into the store, and offered him at random $400 for his stock, which 
offer was immediately accepted. 

Lincoln "happened in" the next day, and being familiar with the value 
of the goods, Mr. Greene proposed to him to take an inventory of the stock, 
and see what sort of a bargain he had made. This he did, and it was found 
that the goods were worth $600. 

Lincoln then made an offer of $125 for his bargain, with the proposition 
that he and a man named Berry, as his partner, take over Greene's notes 
given to Radford. Mr. Greene agreed to the arrangement, but Radford 
declined it, except on condition that Greene would be their security, Greene 
at last assented. 

Lincoln was not afraid of the "Clary Grove Boys"; on the contrary, they 
had been his most ardent friends since the time he thrashed "Jack" Arm- 



YARiYS 'AND STORIES. 



343 



strong, champion bully of "The Grove" — but their custom was not heavy. 

The business soon became a wreck; Greene had to not only assist in 

closing it up, but pay Radford's notes as well. Lincoln afterwards spoke of 

these notes, which he finally made good to Greene, as "the National Debt." 



IINCOIN DEFENDS FIFTEEN MRS. NATIONS. 



When Lincoln's sympathies were enlisted in any cause, he worked like 
a giant to win. At one time (about 1855) he was in attendance upon court 
at the little town of Clinton, 111., and one of the cases on the docket was 
where fifteen women from a neighboring village were defendants, they hav- 

ing been indicted for tres- 

pass. Their ofYense, as duly 
set forth in the indictment, 
was that of swooping down 
upon one Tanner, the keep- 
er of a saloon in the village, 
and knocking in the heads 
of his barrels. Lincoln was 
not employed in the case, 
but sat watching the trial as 
it proceeded. 

In defending the ladies, 
their attorney seemed to 
evince a little want of tact, 
and this prompted one of 
the former to invite Mr. 
Lincoln to add a few words 
to the jury, if he thought he 
coidd aid their cause. He was too gallant to refuse, and their attorney hav- 
ing consented, he made use of the following argument: 

"In this case I would change the order of indictment and have it read 
The State vs. Mr. Whiskey, instead of The State vs. The Ladies; and touch- 
ing these there are three laws: the law of self-protection; the law of the 
land, or statute law; and the moral law, or law of God. 

"First the law of self-protection is a law of necessity, as evinced by our 




344 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

forefathers in casting the tea overboard and asserting their right to the 
pursuit of Hfe, liberty and happiness. In this case it is the only defense the 
ladies have, for Tanner neither feared God nor regarded man. 

"Second, the law of the land, or statute law, and Tanner is recreant to 
both. 

"Third, the moral law, or law of God, and this is probably a law for the 
violation of which the jury can fix no punishment." 

Lincoln gave some of his own observations on the ruinous effects of 
whiskey in society, and demanded its early suppression. 

After he had concluded, the Court, without awaiting the return of the 
jury, dismissed the ladies, saying: 

"Ladies, go home. I will require no bond of you, and if any fine is ever 
wanted of you, we will let you know." 



AVOIDED EVEN APPEARANCE OF EVIL 

Frank W. Tracy, President of the First National Bank of Springfield, 
tells a story illustrative of two traits in Mr. Lincoln's character. Shortly 
after the National banking law went into efifect the First National of Spring- 
field was chartered, and Mr. Tracy wrote to Mr. Lincoln, with whom he 
was well acquainted in a business way, and tendered him an opportunity to 
subscribe for some of the stock. 

In reply to the kindly ofler Mr. Lincoln wrote, thanking Mr. Tracy, 
but at the same time declining to subscribe. He said he recognized that 
stock in a good National bank would be a good thing to hold, but he did nut 
feel that he ought, as President, profit from a law which had been passed 
under his administration. 

"He seemed to wish to avoid even the appearance of evil," said Mr. 
Tracy, in telling of the incident. "And so the act proved both his unvarying 
probity and his unfailing policy." 



WAR DIDN'T ADMIT OF HOLIDAYS. 

Lincoln wrote a letter on October 2d, 1862, in which he observed: 
"I sincerely wish war was a pleasant^er and easier business than it is, but 
it docs not admit of holidays." 



J 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



345 



"NEUTRALITY." 

Old John Bull got himself into a precious tine scrape when he went so 
far as to "play double" with the North, as well as the South, during the 
great American Civil War. In its issue of November 14th, 1863, London 
"Punch" printed a rather clever cartoon illustrating the predicament Bull 
had created for himself. 
John is being lectured by 
Mrs. North and Mrs. South 
— both good talker.s and 
eminently able to hold their 
own in either social conver- 
sation, parliamentary de- 
bate or political argument — 
but he bears it with the best 
grace possible. This is the 
way the text underneath the 
picture runs : 

MRS. NORTH: "How 
about the Alabama, you 
wicked old man?" MRS. 

SOUTH : "Where's my rams? Take back your precious consols — there ! !" 
"Punch" had a good deal of fun with old John before it was through with 
him, but, as the Confederate privateer Alabama was sent beneath the waves 
of the ocean at Cherbourg by the Kearsarge, and Mrs. South had no need 
for any more rams, John got out of the difficulty without personal injury. It 
was a tight squeeze, though, for Mrs. North was in a fighting humor, and 
prepared to scratch or pull hair. The fact that the privateer Alabama, built 
at an English shipyard and manned almost entirely by English sailors, had 
managed to do about $10,000,000 worth of damage to United States com- 
merce, was enough to make any one angry. 




DAYS OF GLADNESS PAST. 



After the war was well on, a patriot woman of the West urged President 
Lincoln to make hospitals at the North where the sick from the Army of the 



346 ■ "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

Mississippi could revive in a more bracing air. Among other reasons, she 
said, feelingly: "If you grant my petition, you will be glad as long as you 
live." 

With a look of sadness impossible to describe, the President said : 

"I shall never be glad any more." 



WOULDN'T TAKE THE MONEY. 

Lincoln always regarded himself as the friend and protector of unfor- 
tunate clients, and such he would never press for pay for his services. A 
client named Cogdal was unfortunate in business, and gave a note in settle- 
ment of legal fees. Soon afterward he met with an accident by which he 
lost a hand. Meeting Lincoln some time after on the steps of the State- 
House, the kind lawyer asked him how he was getting along. 

"Badly enough," replied Cogdal; "I am both broken up in business and 
crippled." Then he added, "I have been thinking about that note of yours." 

Lincoln, who had probably known all about Cogdal's troubles, and had 
prepared himself for the meeting, took out his pocket-book, and saying, with 
a laugh, "^\'ell, you needn't think any more about it," handed him the note. 

Cogdal protesting, Lincoln said, "Even if you had the money, I would 
not take it," and hurried awav. 



« 



GRANT HELD ON ALL THE TIME, 

(Dispatch to General Grant, August 17th. 1864.) 
"I have seen your dispatch expressing your unwillingness to break your 
hold where you are. Neither am I willing. 
"Hold on with a bulldog grip." 



CHEWED THE CUD IN SOLITUDE. 

As a student (if such a term could be applied to Lincoln), one who did 
not know him might have called him indolent. He would pick up a book 
and run rapidly over the pages, pausing here and there. 

At the end of an hour — never more than two or three hours — he would 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



347 



close the book, stretch himself out on the oftice lounge, and then, with 
hands under his head and eyes shut, would digest the mental food he had 
just taken. 



"ABE'S" YANKEE INGENUITY. 

War Governor Richard Yates (he was elected Governor of Illinois in 
i860, when Lincoln was first elected President) told a good story at Spring- 
field (III.) about Lincoln. 

One day the latter was in the Sangamon River with his trousers rolled up 
five feet — more or less — trying to pilot a fiatboat over a mill-dam. The boat 




was so full of water that it was hard to manage. Lincoln got the prow over, 
and then, instead of waiting to bail the water out, bored a hole through the 
projecting part and let it run out, afTording a forcible illustration of the ready 
ingenuity of the future President. 



LINCOLN PAID HOMAGE TO WASHINGTON. 

The Martyr President thus spoke of Washington in the course of an 
address: 

"Washington is the mightiest name on earth — long since the mightiest 
in the cause of civil liberty, still mightiest in moral reformation. 



348 "JS£" LIAXOLN'S 

"On that name a eulogy is expected. It cannot he. 

"To add brightness to the sun or glory to the name of Washington is 
alike impossible. 

''Let none attempt it. 

"In solemn awe pronounce the name, and, in its naked, deathless splen- 
dor, leave it shining on." 



STIRRED EVEN THE REPORTERS. 

Lincoln's influence upon his audiences was wonderful. He could sway 
people at will, and nothing better illustrates his extraordinary power than 
the manner in which he stirred up the newspaper reporters by his Blooming- 
ton speech. 

Joseph Medill, editor of the Chicago Tribune, told the story: 

"It was my journalistic duty, though a delegate to the convention, to 
make a iong-hand' report of the speeches delivered for the Tribune. I did 
make a few paragraphs of what Lincoln said in the first eight or ten minutes, 
but I became so absorbed in his magnetic oratory that I forgot myself and 
ceased to take notes, and joined with the convention in cheering and stamp- 
ing and clapping to the end of his speech. 

"I well remember that after Lincoln sat down and calm had succeeded 
the tempest, I waked out of a sort of hypnotic trance, and then thought of 
my report for the paper. There was nothing written but an abbreviated 
introduction. 

"It was some sort of satisfaction to find that I had not been 'scooped,' 
as all the newspaper men present had been equally carried away by the 
excitement caused by the wonderful oration and had made no report or 
sketch of the speech." 



WHEN 'ABE" CAME IN. 

When "Abe" was fourteen years of age, John Hanks journeyea from 
Kentucky to Indiana and lived v/ith the Lincolns. He described "Abe's" 
habits thus: 

"When Lincoln and I returned to the house from work, he would go to 



4 



YARNS AND STORIES. 349 

the cupboard, snatch a piece of corn-bread, take down a book, sit down on 
a chair, cock his legs up as high as his head, and read. 

"He and I worked barefooted, grubbed it, plowed, mowed, cradled 
together; plowed corn, gathered it, and shucked corn. "Abe' read con- 
stantly when he had an opportunity." 



ETERNAL FIDELITY TO THE CAUSE OF LIBERTY. 

During the Harrison Presidential campaign of 1840, Lincoln said, in a 
speech at Springfield, Illinois: 

"Many free countries have lost their liberty, and ours may lose hers; but 
if she shall, be it my proudest plume, not that I was last to desert, but that 
I never deserted her. 

"I know that the great volcano at Washington, aroused and directed bv 
the evil spirit that reigns there, is belching forth the lava of political corrup- 
tion in a current broad and deep, which is sweeping with frightful velocity- 
over the whole length and breadth of the land, bidding fair to leave 
unscathed no green spot or living thing. 

"I cannot deny that all may be swept away. Broken by it, I, too, may 
be ; bow to it I never will. 

"The possibility that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us 
from the support of a cause which we believe to be just. It shall never 
deter me. 

'If ever I feel the soul within me elevate and expand to those dimen- 
sions not wholly unworthy of its Almighty Architect, it is w^hen I contem- 
plate the cause of my countrj-, deserted by all the world beside, and I stand- 
ing up boldly alone, and hurling defiance at her victorious oppressors. 

''Here, without contemplating consequences, before heaven, and in the 
face of the world, I swear eternal fidelity to the just cause, as I deem it, of 
the land of my life, my liberty, and my love; and who that thinks with me 
will not fearlessly adopt the oath that I take? 

"Let none falter who thinks he is right, and we may succeed. 

"But if, after all, we shall fail, be it so; we have the proud consolation of 
saying to our consciences, and to the departed shade of our country's free- 
dom, that the cause approved of our judgment, and, adorned of our hearts 
in disaster, in chains, in death, we never faltered in defending." 



350 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

"ABE'S" "DEFALCATIONS." 

Lincoln could not rest for an instant under the consciousness that, even 
unwittingly, he had defrauded anybody. On one occasion, while clerking 
in OfTutt's store, at New Salem, he sold a woman a little bale of goods, 
amounting, by the reckoning, to $2.20. He received the money, and the 
woman went away. 

On adding the items of the bill again to make himself sure of correctness, 
he found that he had taken six and a quarter cents too much. 

It was night, and, closing and locking the store, he started out on foot, 
a distance of two or three miles, for the house of his defrauded customer, 
and, delivering to her the sum whose possession had so much troubled him, 
went home satisfied. 

On another occasion, just as he was closing the store for the night, a 
woman entered and asked for half a pound of tea. The tea was weighed 
out and paid for, and the store was left for the night. 

The next morning Lincoln, when about to begin the duties of the day, 
discovered a four-ounce weight on the scales. He saw at once that he had 
made a mistake, and, shutting the store, he took a long walk before break- 
fast to deliver the remainder of the tea. 

These are very humble incidents, but they illustrate the man's perfect 
conscientiousness — his sensitive honesty — better, perhaps, than they would 
if they were of greater moment. 



HE WASN'T GUILELESS. 

Leonard Swett, of Chicago, whose counsels were doubtless among the 
most welcome to Lincoln, in summing up Lincoln's character, said : 

"From the commencement of his life to its close I have sometimes 
doubted whether he ever asked anybody's advice about anything. He 
would listen to everybody; he would hear everybody; but he rarely, if ever, 
asked for opinions. 

"As a politician and as President he arrived at all his conclusions from 
his own reflections, and when his conclusions were once formed he never 
doubted but what they were right. 

"One great public mistake of his (Lincoln's) character, as generally 
received and acquiesced in, is that he is considered by the people of this 




HORACt. (jRl LLL\, lur met than thirt> j ears editor of the New York Tribune, 
the most influential RepubUcan newspaper in the country during Lincoln's time, was not 
friendly to the President a good deal of the time from 1861 to 1865. Mr. Greeley desired 
to dictate to Lincoln, which was something to which the latter would not submit. In 
1872 Greeley headed the Independent Republican revolt, and was endorsed for the 
Presidency by the Democrats. His humiliating defeat by President Grant caused his death 
shortly after the election. He was born in New Hampshire in 181 1. (3Sl) 




_ CHARLES ANDERSON DANA. Assistant Secretary ot War to Secretary Stanton. 
and for many years previous to his death the editor of the New York Sun. was one of 
the really great journalists of his time, he being particularly noted for the bitterness with 
which he carried on controversies, personal and political, through the columns of his 
paper. , As Secretary Stanton's assistant he was of much aid to President Lincoln and 
the War Department in reporting, after visiting the headquarters of commanding generals 
in the field, the true state of affairs. He was called "the eyes of the War Department." 
He was born in New Hampshire in 1819, and died in 1897. (352) 



YARNS AND STORIES. 353 

country as a frank, guileless, and unsophisticated man. There never was a 
greater mistake. 

"Beneath a smooth surface of candor and apparent declaration of all his 
thoughts and feelings he exercised the most exalted tact and wisest dis- 
crimination. He handled and moved men remotely as we do pieces upon a 
chess-board. 

"He retained through life all the friends he ever had, and he made the 
wrath of his enemies to praise him. This was not by cunning or intrigue 
in the low acceptation of the term, but by far-seeing reason and discern- 
ment. He always told only enough of his plans and purposes to induce the 
belief that he had communicated all; yet he reserved enough to have com- 
municated nothing." 



SWEET, BUT MILD REVENGE. 

When the United States found that a war with BlacK Hawk could not 
be dodged. Governor Reynolds, of Illinois, issued a call for volunteers, and 
among the companies that immediately responded was one from Menard 
county, Illinois. Many of these volunteers were from New Salem and 
Clary's Grove, and Lincoln, being out of business, was the first to enlist. 

The company being full, the men held a meeting at Richland for the 
election of ofificers. Lincoln had won many hearts, and they told him that 
he must be their captain. It was an office to which he did not aspire, and 
for which he felt he had no special fitness; but he finally consented to be 
a candidate. 

There was but one other candidate, a Mr. Kirkpatrick, who was one of the 
most influential men of the region. Previously, Kirkpatrick had been an 
employer of Lincoln, and was so overbearing in his treatment of the young 
man that the latter left him. 

The simple mode of electing a captain adopted by the company was by 
placing the candidates apart, and telling the men to go and stand with the 
one they preferred. Lincoln and his competitor took their positions, and 
then the word was given. At least three out of every four went to Lincoln 
at once. 

When it was seen by those who had arranged themselves with the other 
candidate that Lincoln was the choice of the majority of the company, they 



J54 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

left their places, one by one, and came over to the successful side, until 
Lincoln's opponent in the friendly strife was left standing almost alone. 

"I felt badly to see him cut so," says a witness of the scene. 

Here was an opportunity for revenge. The humble laborer was his 
employer's captain, Init the opportunity was never improved. Mr. Lincoln 
frequently confessed that no subsequent success of his life had given him 
half the satisfaction that this election did. 



DIDN'T TRUST THE COURT. 

In one of his many stories of Lincoln, his law partner, W. H. Herndon, 
told this as illustrating Lincoln's shrewdness as a lawyer: 

"I was with Lincoln once and listened to an oral argument by him in 
which he rehearsed an extended history of the law. It was a carefully pre- 
pared and masterly discourse, but, as I thought, entirely useless. After 
he was through and we were walking home, I asked him w hy he went so far 
back in the history of the law. I presumed the court knew enough history. 

" 'That's where you're mistaken,' was his instant rejoinder. T dared not 
trust the case on the presumption that the court knows everything — in 
fact I argued it on the presumption that the court didn't know anything,' 
a statement, which, when one reviews the decision of our appellate courts, 
is not so extravagant as one would at first suppose." 



HANDSOMEST MAN ON EARTH. 

One day Thaddeus Stevens called at the White House with an elderly 
woman, whose son had been in the army, but for some offense had been 
court-martialed and sentenced to death. There were some extenuating- 
circumstances, and after a full hearing the President turned to Stevens and 
said: "Mr. Stevens, do you think this is a case which will warrant my inter- 
ference?" 

"With my knowledge of the facts and the parties," was the reply, "I 
should have no hesitation in granting a pardon." 

"Then," returned Mr. Lincoln, "I will pardon him," and proceeded 
forthwith to execute the paper. 

The gratitude of the mother was too deep for expression, save by her 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



3S3 



tears, and not a word was said between her and Stevens until they were 
half way down the stairs on their passage out, when she suddenly broke 
forth in an excited manner with the words: 

"I knew it was a copperhead lie!" 

"What do you refer to, madam?" asked Stevens. 

"Why, they told me be uas an ugly-looking man," she replied, with 
vehemence. "He is the handsomest man I ever saw in my life." 



THAT COON CAME DOWN. 

"Lincoln's Last W^arning" was the title of a cartoon which appeared in 
"Harper's Weekly," on October ii, 1862. Under the picture was the text: 
"Now if you don't come down I'll cut the tree from under you." 
This illustration was peculiarly apt, as, on the ist of January, 1863, Presi- 
dent Lincoln issued his great Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all 
slaves in the United States forever free. "Old Abe" was a handy man with 

the axe, he having split many 
thousands of rails with its 
keen edge. As the "Slavery 
Coon" wouldn't heed the 
warning, Lincoln did cut the 
tree from under him, and so 
he came down to the ground 
with a heavy thump. 

This Act of Emancipa- 
tion put an end to the notion 
of the Southern slave holders 
that involuntary servitude 
was one of the "sacred insti- 
tutions" on the Continent of 
North America. It also dem- 
onstrated that Lincoln was 
thoroughly in earnest when 
he declared that he would 
not only save the Union, 
but that he meant what he said in the speech wherein he asserted, "This 
Nation cannot exist half slave and half free." 




356 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

WROTE "PIECES" WHEN VERY YOUNG. 

At fifteen years of age "Abe" wrote "pieces," or compositions, and even 
some doggerel rhyme, which he recited, to the great amusement of his play- 
mates. 

One of his first compositions was against cruelty to animals. He was 
very much annoyed and pained at the conduct of the boys, who were in the 
habit of catching terrapins and putting coals of fire on their backs, which 
thoroughly disgusted Abraham. 

"He would chide us," said "Nat" Grigsby, "tell us it was wrong, and 
would write against it." 

When eighteen years old, "Abe" wrote a "piece" on "National Politics," 
and it so pleased a lawyer friend, named Pritchard, that the latter had it 
printed in an obscure paper, thereby adding much to the author's pride. 
"Abe" did not conceal his satisfaction. In this "piece" he wrote, among 
other things : 

"The American government is the best form of government for an intelli- 
gent people. It ought to be kept sound, and preserved forever, that general 
education should be fostered and carried all over the country; that the Con- 
stitution should be saved, the Union perpetuated and the laws revered, 
respected and enforced." 



"TRY TO STEER HER THROUGH." 

John A. Logan and a friend of Illinois called upon Lincoln at Willard's 
Hotel, Washington, February 23d, the morning of his arrival, and urged 
a vigorous, firm policy. 

Patiently listening, Lincoln replied seriously but cheerfully: 
"As the country has placed me at the helm of the ship, I'll try to steer 
her through." 



GRAND. GLOOMY AND PECULIAR. 

Lincoln was a marked and peculiar young man. People talked about 
him. His studious habits, his greed for information, his thorough mastery 
of the difficulties of every new position in which he was placed, his intelli- 



YARNS AND ■ STORIES. 



357 



gence on all matters of public conoern, his unwearying good-natur«, his 
skill in telling a story, his great athletic power, his quaint, odd ways, his 
uncouth appearance — all tended to bring him in sharp contrast with the 
dull mediocrity by which he was surrounded. 

Denton Offutt, his old employer, said, after having had a conversation 
with Lincoln, that the young man "had talent enough in him to make a 
President." 



ON THE WAY TO GETTYSBTTRG. 



When Lincoln was on his way to the National Cemeterj' at Gettysburg, 
an old gentleman told him that his only son fell on Little Round Top at 
Gettysburg, and he was going to look at the spot. Mr. Lincoln replied: 
"You have been called on to make a terrible sacrifice for the Union, and a 

visit to that spot, I fear, 
will open your wounds 
afresh. 

"But, oh, my dear sir, 
if we had reached the end 
of such sacrifices, and had 
nothing left for us to do 
but to place garlands on 
the graves of those who 
have already fallen, we 
could give thanks even 
amidst our tears; but 
when I think of the sacri- 
fices of life yet to be of- 
fered, and the hearts and 
homes yet to be made des- 
olate before this dreadful 
war is over, my heart is 
like lead v-.ithin me, and I 
feel at times like hiding in 
deep darkness." At one 
of the stopping places 
of the train, a very beautiful child, having a bunch of rosebuds in her 




358 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

hand, was lifted up to an open window of the President's car. 
"Floweth for the President." The President stepped to the window, 
took the rosebuds, bent down and kissed the child, saying, "You are a sweet 
little rosebud yourself. I hope your life will open into perpetual beauty and 
goodness." 



STOOD UP THE LONGEST. 

There was a rough gallantry among the young people; and Lincoln's 
old comrades and friends in Indiana have left many tales of how he "went 
to see the girls," of how he brought in the biggest back-log and made the 
brightest fire; of how the young people, sitting around it, watching the way 
the sparks flew, told their fortunes. 

He helped pare apples, shell corn and crack nuts. He took the girls to 
meeting and to spelling school, though he was not often allowed to take part 
in the spelling-match, for the one who "chose first" always chose "Abe" 
Lincoln, and that was equivalent to winning, as the others knew that "he 
would stand up the longest." 



A MORTIFYING EXPERIENCE. 

A lady reader or elocutionist came to Springfield in 1857. A large 
crowd greeted her. Among other things she recited "Nothing to Wear," 
a piece in which is described the perplexities that beset "Aliss Flora McFlim- 
sey" in her efforts to appear fashionable. 

In the midst of one stanza in which no efTort is made to say anything 
particularly amusing, and during the reading of which the audience mani- 
fested the most respectful silence and attention, some one in the rear seats 
burst out with a loud, coarse laugh, a sudden and explosive gufifaw. 

It startled the speaker and audience, and kindled a storm of unsup- 
pressed laughter and applause. Everybody looked back to ascertain the 
cause of the demonstration, and were greatly surprised to find that it was 
Mr. Lincoln. 

He blushed and squirmed with the awkward diffidence of a schoolboy. 
What caused him to laugh, no one was able to explain. He was doubtless 



YARNS AND STORIES. 359 

wrapped up in a brown study, and recalling soine amusing episode, indulged 
in laughter without realizing his surroundings. The experience mortified him 
greatly. 



NO HAIF-WAY BUSINESS. 

Soon after Mr. Lincoln began to practice law at Springfield, he was 
engaged in a criminal case in which it was thought there -^vas little chance 
of success. Throwing all his powers into it, he came off victorious, and 
promptly received for his services five hundred dollars. A legal friend, 
calling upon him the next morning, found him sitting before a table, upon 
which his money was spread out, counting it over and over. 

"Look here. Judge," said he. "See what a heap of money I've got from 
this case. Did you ever see anything like it? Why, I never had so much 
money in my life before, put it all together." Then, crossing his arms upon 
the table, his manner sobering down, he added : "I have got just five hundred 
dollars: if it were only seven hundred and fifty, I would go directly and 
purchase a quarter section of land, and settle it upon my old step-mother." 

His friend said that if the deficiency was all he needed, he would loan 
him the amount, taking his note, to which Mr. Lincoln instantly acceded. 

His friend then said : 

"Lincoln, I would do just what you have indicated. Your step-mother 
is getting old, and will not probably live many years, I would settle the 
property upon her for her use during her lifetime, to revert to you upon her 
death." 

With much feeling, Mr. Lincoln replied : 

"I shall do no such thing. It is a poor return at best for all the good 
woman's devotion and fidelity to me, and there is not going to be any half- 
way business about it." And so saying, he gathered up his money and 
proceeded forthwith to carry his long-cherished purpose into execution. 



DISCOURAGED LITIGATION. 

Lincoln believed in preventing unnecessary litigation, and carried out 
this in his practice. "Who was your guardian?" he asked a young man who 



36o "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

came to him to complain that a part of the property left him had been with- 
held. "Enoch Kingsbury," replied the young man. 

"I know Mr. Kingsbury," said Lincoln, "and he is not the man to have 
cheated you out of a cent, and I can't take the case, and advise you to drop 
the subject." 

And it was dropped. 



GOING HOME TO GET READY. 

Edwin M. Stanton was one of the attorneys in the great "reaper patent" 
case heard in Cincinnati in 1855, Lincoln also having been retained. The 
latter was rather anxious to deliver the argument on the general proposi- 
tions of law applicable to the case, but it being decided to have Mr. Stanton 
do this, the Westerner made no complaint. 

Speaking of Stanton's argument and the view Lincoln took of it, Ralph 
Emerson, a young lawyer who was present at the trial, said : 

"The final summing up on our side was by Mr. Stanton, and though he 
took but about three hours in its delivery, he had devoted as many, if not 
more, weeks to its preparation. It was very able, and Mr. Lincoln was 
throughout the whole of it a rapt listener. Mr. Stanton closed his speech 
in a flight of impassioned eloquence. 

"Then the court adjourned for the day, and Mr. Lincoln invited me to 
take a long walk with him. For block after block he walked rapidly for- 
ward, not saying a word, evidently deeply dejected. 

"At last he turned suddenly to me, exclaiming, "Emerson, I am going 
home.' A pause. T am going home to study law.' 

" 'Why,' I exclaimed, 'Mr. Lincoln, you stand at the head of the bar in 
Illinois now! What are you talking about?' 

" 'Ah, yes,' he said, 'I do occupy a good position there, and I think that I 
can get along with the way things are done there now. But these college- 
trained men, who have devoted their whole lives to study, are coming West, 
don't you see? And they study their cases as we never do. They have got as 
far as Cincinnati now. They will soon be in Illinois.' 

"Another long pause; then stopping and turning toward me, his counte- 
nance suddenly assuming that look of strong determination which those 
who knew him best sometimes saw upon his face, he exclaimed, 'I am going 
home to study law! I am as good as any of them, and when they get out 
lo Illinois, I will be readv for them.' " 



YARXS AND STORIES. 

"THE •RAIL-SPLITTER' REPAIRING THE UNION." 

The cartoon given here in fac simile was one of the posters which dec- 
orated the picturesque Presidential campaign of 1864, and assisted in mak- 
ing the period previous to the vote-casting a lively and memorable one. This 
poster was a lithograph, aiid, as the title, "The Rail-Splitter at Work Repair- 
ing the Union," would indicate, the President is using the Vice-Presidential 
candidate on the Republican National ticket (Andrew Johnson) as an aid 




in the work. Johnson was, in early life, a tailor, and he is pictured as busily 
engaged in sewing up the rents made in the map of the Union by the seces- 
sionists. 

Both men are thoroughly in earnest, and, as histon.' relates, the torn 
places in the Union map were stitched together so nicely that no one could 
have told, by mere observation, that a tear had ever been made. Andrew 
Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln upon the assassination of the latter, was 



362 "ABE" LINCOLN'S • ■ 

a remarkable man. Born in North Carolina, he removed to Tennessee when 
young, was Congressman, Governor, and United States Senator, being made 
military Governor of his State in 1862. A strong, stanch Union man, he 
was nominated for the Vice-Presidency on the Lincoln ticket to conciliate 
the War Democrats. After serving out his term as President, he was again 
elected United States Senator from Tennessee, but died shortly after taking 
his seat. But he was just the sort of a man to assist "Uncle Abe" in sewing 
up the torn places in the Union map, and as military Governor of Tennessee 
was a powerful factor in winning friends in the South to the Union cause. 



"riND OUT FOR YOURSELVES." 

"Several of us lawyers," remarked one of his colleagues, "in the eastern 
end of the circuit, annoyed Lincoln once while he was holding court for 
Davis by attempting to defend against a note to which there were many 
makers. We had no legal, but a good moral defense, but what we wanted 
most of all was to stave it off till the next term of court by one expedient 
or another. 

"We bothered 'the court' about it till late on Saturday, the day of 
adjournment. He adjourned for supper with nothing left but this case to 
dispose of. After supper he heard our twaddle for nearly an hour, and then 
made this odd entry. 

" 'L. D. Chaddon vs. J. D. Beasley et al. April Term, 1856. Champaign 
county Court. Plea in abatement by B. Z. Green, a defendant not served, 
hied Saturday at 11 o'clock a. m., April 24, 1856, stricken from the hies 
by order of court. Demurrer to declaration, if there ever was one, over- 
ruled. Defendants who are served now. at 8 o'clock p. m.. of the last day 
of the term, ask to plead to the merits, which is denied by the court on the 
ground that the offer comes too late, and therefore, as by nil dicet, judgment 
is rendered for Pl'ff. Clerk assess damages. A. Lincoln, Judge pro tern.' 

"The lawyer who reads this singular entry will appreciate its oddity if no 
one else does. After making it, one of the lawyers, on recovering from his 
astonishment, ventured to enquire : 'Well, Lincoln, how can we get this case 
up again?' 

"Lincoln eyed him quizzically for a moment, and then answered, 'You 
have all been so mighty smart about this case, you can find out how to take 
it up again yourselves.' " 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



363 



ROUGH ON THE NEGKO. 

Mr. Lincoln, one day, was talking with the Rev. Dr. Sunderland about 
the Emancipation Proclamation and the future of the negro. Suddenly a 
ripple of amusement broke the solemn tone of his voice. "As for the negroes, 

Doctor, and what is going to 
become of them: I told Ben 
Wade the other day, that it 
made me think of a story I 
read in one of my first books, 
'.'Esop's Fables.' It was an 
old edition, and had curious 
rough wood cuts, one of which 
showed three white men 
scrubbing a negro in a potash 
kettle filled with cold water. 
The text explained that 
the men thought that by 
scrubbing the negro they 
might make him white. Just 
about the time they thought 
they were succeeding, he took 
cold and died. Now, I am 
afraid that by the time we get through this War the negro will catch cold 
and die." 




CHALLENGED ALL COMERS. 



Personal encounters were of frequent occurrence in Gentryville in early 
days, and the prestige of having thrashed an opponent gave the victor marked 
social distinction. Green B. Taylor, with whom "Abe" worked the greater 
part of one winter on a farm, furnished an account of the noted fight between 
John Johnston. '"Abe's" step-brother, and William Grigsby, in which stir- 
ring drama "Abe" himself played an important role before the curtain was 
rung down. 

Taylor's father was the second for Johnston, and William Whitten offi- 



364 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

ciated in a similar capacity for Grigsby. "They liad a terrible fight," related 
Taylor, "and it soon became apparent that Grigsby was too much for Lin- 
coln's man, Johnston. After they had fought a long time without interfer- 
ence, it having been agreed not to break the ring, 'Abe' burst through, 
caught Grigsby, threw him off and some feet away. There Grigsby stood, 
proud as Lucifer, and, swinging a bottle of liquor over his head, swore he 
was 'the big buck of the lick.' 

" 'If any one doubts it,' he shouted, 'he has only to come on and whet his 
horns.' " 

A general engagement followed this challenge, but at the end of hostil- 
ities the field was cleared and the wounded retired amid the exultant shouts 
of their victors. 



"GOVERNMENT RESTS IN PUBLIC OPINION." 

Lincoln delivered a speech at a Republican banquet at Chicago, Decem- 
ber loth, 1856, just after the Presidential campaign of that year, in which 
he said : 

"Our government rests in public opinion. Whoever can change public 
opinion can change the government practically just so much. 

"Public opinion, on any subject, always has a 'central idea,' from which 
all its minor thoughts radiate. 

"That 'central idea' in our political public opinion at the beginning was, 
and until recently has continued to be, 'the equality of man.' 

"And although it has always submitted patiently to whatever of inequal- 
ity there seemed to be as a matter of actual necessity, its constant working 
has been a steady progress toward the practical equality of all men. 

"Let everyone who really believes, and is resolved, that free society is 
not and shall not be a failure, and who can conscientiously declare that in 
the past contest he has done only what he thought best — let every such 
one have charity to believe that every other one can say as much. 

"Thus, let bygones be bygones; let party differences as nothing be, and 
with steady eye on the real issue, let us reinaugurate the good old 'central 
ideas' of the Republic. 

"We can do it. The human heart is with us; God is with us. 

"We shall never be able to declare that 'all States as States are equal.' 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



365 



tior yet that 'all citizens are equal,' but to renew the broader, better declara- 
tion, including both these and much more, that 'all men are created equal.' " 



HUKRY MIGHT MAKE TROUBLE. 



Up to the very last moment of the life of the Confederacy, the London 
"Punch" had its fling at the United States. In a cartoon, printed February 
i8th, 1865, labeled "The Threatening Notice," "Punch" intimates that 
Uncle Sam is in somewhat of a hurry to serve notice on John Bull regarding 
the contentions in connection with the northern border of the United States. 

Lincoln, however, as attor- 
ney for his revered Uncle, 
advises caution. Accord- 
ingly, he tells his Uncle, ac- 
cording to the text under 
the picture : 

ATTORNEY LIN- 
COLN: "Now, Uncle Sam, 
you're in a darned hurry to 
serve this here notice on 
John Bull. Now, it's my 
duty, as your attorney, to 
tell you that you may drive 
him to go over to that cuss, 
Davis." (Uncle Sam consid- 
ers.) In this instance. Presi- 
dent Lincoln is given credit 
for judgment and common 
sense, his advice to his 
Uncle Sam to be prudent 
being sound. There was 
trouble all along the Cana- 
dian border during the War, 
while Canada was the refuge of Northern conspirators and Southern spies, 
who, at times, crossed the line and inflicted great damage upon the States 
bordering on it. The plot to seize the great lake cities — Chicago, Milwau- 
kee, Detroit, Qeveland, Buffalo and others — was figured out in Canada by 




366 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

the Southerners and Northern allies. President Lincoln, in his message to 
Congress in December, 1864, said the United States had given notice to 
England that, at the end of six months, this country would, if necessary, 
increase its naval armament upon the lakes. What Great Britain feared 
was the abrogation by the United States of all treaties regarding Canada. 
By previous stipulation, the United States and England were each to have 
but one war vessel on the Great Lakes. 



SAW HIMSELF DEAD. 

This story cannot be repeated in Lincoln's own language, although he 
told it often enough to intimate friends; but, as it was never taken down by 
a stenographer in the martyred President's exact words, the reader must 
accept a simple narration of the strange occurrence. 

It was not long after the first nomination of Lincoln for the Presidency, 
when he saw, or imagined he saw, the startling apparition. One day, feeling 
weary, he threw himself upon a lounge in one of the rooms of his house at 
Springfield to rest. Opposite the lounge upon which he was lying was a 
large, long mirror, and he could easily see the reflection of his form, full 
length. 

Suddenly he saw, or imagined he saw, two Lincolns in the mirror, each 
lying full length upon the lounge, but they differed strangely in appear- 
ance. One was the natural Lincoln, full of life, vigor, energy and strength; 
the other v/as a dead Lincoln, the face white as marble, the limbs nerveless 
and lifeless, the body inert and still. 

Lincoln was so impressed with this vision," which he considered merely 
an optical illusion, that he arose, put on his hat, and went out for a walk. 
Returning to the house, he determined to test the matter again — and the 
result was the same as before. He distinctly saw the two Lincolns — one 
living and the other dead. 

He said nothing to his wife about this, she being, at that time, in a nerv- 
ous condition, and apprehensive that some accident would surely befall her 
husband. She was particularly fearful that he might be the victim of an 
assassin. Lincoln always made light of her fears, but yet he was never easy 
in his mind afterwards. 

To more thoroughly test the so-called "optical illusion," and prove, 
beyond the shadow of a doubt, whether it was a mere fanciful creation of 



YARNS AND STORIES. 367 

the brain or a reflection upon the broad face of the mirror which might be 
seen at any time, Lincohi made frequent experiments. Each and every time 
the result was the same. He could not get away from the two Lincolns — one 
living and the other dead. 

Lincoln never saw this forbidding reflection while in the White House. 
Time after time he placed a couch in front of a mirror at a distance from the 
glass where he could view his entire length while lying down, but the looking- 
glass in the Executive Mansion was faithful to its trust, and only the living 
Lincoln was observable. 

The late Ward Lamon, once a law partner of Lincoln, and Marshal of 
die District of Columbia during his first administration, tells, in his "Recol- 
lections of Abraham Lincoln," of the dreams the President had — all fore- 
telling death. 

Lamon was Lincoln's most intimate friend, being, practically, his body- 
guard, and slept in the White House. In reference to Lincoln's "death 
dreams," he says: 

"How, it may be asked, could he make life tolerable, burdened as he was 
with that portentous horror, which, though visionary, and of trifling import 
in our eyes, was by his interpretation a premonition of impending doom? I 
answer in a word: His sense of duty to his country; his belief that 'the 
inevitable' is right; and his innate and irrepressible humor. 

"But the most startling incident in the life of Mr. Lincoln was a dream 
he had only a few days before his assassination. To him it was a thing of 
deadly import, and certainly no vision was ever fashioned more exactly like 
a dread reality. Coupled with other dreams, with the mirror-scene and with 
other incidents, there was something about it so amazingly real, so true 
to the actual tragedy which occurred soon after, that more than mortal 
strength and wisdom would have been required to let it pass without a shud- 
der or a pang. 

"After worrying over it for some days, Mr. Lincoln seemed no longer 
able to keep the secret. I give it as nearly in his own words as I can, from 
notes which I made immediately after its recital. There were only two or 
three persons present. 

"The President was in a melancholy, meditative mood, and had been 
silent for some time. Mrs. Lincoln, who was present, rallied him on his 
solemn visage and want of spirit. This seemed to arouse him, and, without 
seeming to notice her sally, he said, in slow and measured tones : 

" 'It seems strange how much there is in the Bible about dreams. There 



368 '-ABE" LINCOLN'S 

are, I think, some sixteen chapters in the Old Testament and four or five in 
the New, in which dreams are mentioned; and there are many other pas- 
sages scattered throughout the book which refer to visions. In the old days, 
God and His angels came to men in their sleep and made themselves known 
in dreams.' 

"Airs. Lincoln here remarked, 'Why, you look dreadfully solemn; do 
you beheve in dreams?' 

" 'I can't say that I do,' returned Mr. Lincoln; 'but I had one the other 
night which has haunted me ever since. After it occurred the first time, I 
opened the Bible, and, strange as it may appear, it was at the twenty-eighth 
chapter of Genesis, which relates the wonderful dream Jacob had. I turned 
to other passages, and seemed to encounter a dream or a vision wherever I 
looked. I kept on turning the leaves of the old book, and everywhere my 
eyes fell upon passages recording matters strangely in keeping with my 
own thoughts — supernatural visitations, dreams, visions, etc' 

"He now looked so serious and disturbed that Mrs. Lincoln exclaimed: 
'You frighten me! What is the matter?' 

" 'I am afraid,' said Mr. Lincoln, observing the efifect his words had upon 
his wife, 'that I have done wrong to mention the subject at all; but some- 
how the thing has got possession of me, and, like Banquo's ghost, it will not 
down.' 

"This only inflamed Mrs. Lincoln's curiosity the more, and while bravely 
disclaiming any belief in dreams, she strongly urged him to tell the dream 
which seemed to have such a hold upon him, being seconded in this by 
another listener. Mr. Lincoln hesitated, but at length commenced very 
deliberately, his brow overcast with a shade of melancholy. 

" 'About ten days ago,' said he, 'I retired very late. I had been up wait- 
ing for important dispatches from the front. I could not have been long in 
bed when I fell into a slumber, for I was weary. I soon began to dream. 
There seemed to be a death-like stillness about me. Then I heard subdued 
sobs, as if a number of people were weeping. 

" 'I thought I left my bed and wandered down-stairs. There the silence 
was broken by the same pitiful sobbing, but the mourners were invisible. I 
went from room to room; no living person was in sight, but the same mourn- 
ful sounds of distress met me as I passed along. It was light in all the rooms; 
every object was familiar to me; but where were all the people who were 
grieving as if their hearts would break? I was puzzled and alarmed. What 
could be the meaning of all this? 




JOSLI'H MEDILL, ior nearly forty years editor ot tlie Chicago Tribune, one oi 
the leaders and founders of the RepubUcan party, sometimes called "the Greeley of the 
West," was a personal friend of- President Lincoln, and a supporter of the latter's policy. 
However, he did not escape Lincoln's anger when, with other Chicago men, he called 
upon the President to request that Chicago's quota of men on the last call for troops be 
lowered. Mr. Medill afterwards said, "'rhat was the first time I was ever whipped." The 
great editor was born in Canada in 1823, and died in 1898. He was a strong and vigorous 
VI iter, firm in maintaining a stand once taken, and always fought fairly. (369) 




RICH VRD \ ViLb, tiiL I uuoub \\ ai (juxcinoi ut lUiiiuii, and a \ulu(_d Iritnd of 
President Lincoln, was, like the latter, a native of Kentucky. Governor Yates' energetic 
methods in organizing and equipping regiments and sending them to the front pleased 
Lincoln greatly. Governor Yates gave General Grant the first commission he received in 
the War, making the "Old Commander" a colonel. Governor Yates was chosen United 
States Senator in 1865, serving until 1871, and died in 1873, at the age of fifty-eight. He 
w*« also sent to Congress several times. (370^ 



YARNS AND STORIES. 371 

" 'Determined to find the cause of a state of things so mysterious and 
so shocking, I kept on until I arrived at the East Room, which I entered. 
There I met with a sickening surprise. Before me was a catafalque, on which 
rested a corpse wrapped in funeral vestments. Around it were stationed 
soldiers who were acting as guards; and there was a throng of people, some 
gazing mournfully upon the corpse, whose face was covered, others weep- 
ing pitifully. 

" ' "Who is dead in the White House?" I demanded of one of the sol- 
diers. 

" ' "The President," was his answer; "he was killed by an as.sassin." 

" Then came a loud burst of grief from the crowd, which awoke me from 
my dream. I slept no more that night ; and although it was only a dream, 
I have been strangely annoyed by it ever since.' 

" 'That is horrid!' said Mrs. Lincoln. T wish you had not told it. I am 
glad I don't believe in dreams, or I should be in terror from thi.s time 
forth." 

" 'Well.' responded Mr. Lincoln, thoughtfully, 'it is onlv a dream, Mary. 
Let us say no more about it, and try to forget it.' 

"This dream was so horrible, so real, and so in keeping with other dreams 
and threatening presentiments of his, that Mr. Lincoln was profoundly dis- 
turbed by it. During its recital he was grave, gloomy, and at times visibly 
pale, but perfectly calm. He spoke slowly, with measured accents and deep 
feeling. 

"In conversations with me, he referred to it afterwards, closing one with 
this quotation from 'Hamlet' : 'To sleep; perchance to dream ! ay, there's the 
rub!' with a strong accent upon the last three words. 

"Once the President alluded to this terrible dream with some show of 
playful humor. 'Hill,' said he, 'your apprehension of harm to me from some 
hidden enemy is downright foolishness. For a long time you have been 
trying to keep somebody — the Lord knows who— from killing me. 

" 'Don't you see how it will turn out? In this dream it was not me, but 
some other fellow, that was killed. It seems that this ghostly assassin tried 
his hand on some one else. And this reminds m.e of an old farmer in Illinois 
whose family were made sick by eating greens. 

" 'Some poisonous herb had got into the mess, and members of the family 
were in danger of dying. There was a half-witted boy in the family called 
Jake; and always afterward when they had greens the old man would say, 
"Now, afore we risk these greens, let's try 'em on Jake. If he stands 'em. 



372 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

we're all right." Just so with me. As long as this imaginary assassin con- 
tinues to exercise himself on others, I can stand it.' 

"He tlien became serious and said : 'Well, let it go. I think the Lord 
in His own good time and way will work this out all right. God knows 
what is best.' 

"These words he spoke with a sigh, and rather in a tone of soliloquy, as 
if hardly noting my presence. 

"Mr. Lincoln had another remarkable dream, which was repeated so fre- 
quently during his occupancy of the White House that he came to regard it 
as a welcome visitor. It was of a pleasing and promising character, having 
nothing in it of the horrible. 

"It was always an omen of a Union victory, and came with unerring cer- 
tainty just before every military or naval engagement where our arms were 
crowned with success. In this dream he saw a ship sailing away rapidly, 
badly damaged, and our victorious vessels in close pursuit. 

"He saw, also, the close of a battle on land, the enemy routed, and our 
forces in possession of vantage ground of inestimable importance. ]\Ir. Lin- 
coln stated it as a fact that he had this dream just before the battles of Antie- 
tam, Gettysburg, and other signal engagements throughout the War. 

"The last time Mr. Lincoln had this dream was the night before his assas- 
sination. On the morning of that lamentable day there was a Cabinet meet- 
ing, at which General Grant was present. During an interval of general dis- 
cussion, the President asked General Grant if he had any news from General 
Sherman, who was then confronting Johnston. The reply was in the nega- 
tive, but the general added that he was in hourly expectation of a dispatch 
announcing Johnston's surrender. 

"Mr. Lincoln then, with great impressiveness, said, 'We shall hear very 
soon, and the news will be important.' 

"General Grant asked him why he thought so. 

" 'Because,' said Mr. Lincoln, 'I had a dream last night; and ever since 
this War began I have had the same dream just before every event of great 
national importance. It portends some important event which will happen 
very soon.' 

"On the night of the fateful 14th of April, 1865, Mrs. Lincoln's first 
exclamation, after the President was shot, was, 'His dream was prophetic!' 

"Lincoln was a believer in certain phases of the supernatural. Assured 
as he undoubtedly was by omens which, to his mind, were conclusive, that 
he would rise to greatness and power, he was as firmly convinced by the 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



373 



same tokens that he would be suddenly cut off at the height of his career and 
the fullness of his fame. He always believed that he would fall by the hand 
of an assassin. 

"Mr. Lincoln had this further idea: Dreams, being natural occurrences, 
in the strictest sense, he held that their best interpreters are the common peo- 
ple; and this accounts, in great measure, for the profound respect he always 
had for the collective wisdom of plain people — 'the children of Nature,' he 
called them — touching matters belonging to the domain of psychical mys- 
teries. There was some basis of truth, he believed, for whatever obtained 
general credence among these 'children of Nature.' 

"Concerning presentiments and dreams, Mr. Lincoln had a philosophy of 
his own, which, strange as it may appear, was in perfect harmony with his 
character in all other respects. He was no dabbler in divination — astrology, 
horoscopy, prophecy, ghostly lore, or witcheries of any sort. 



EVERY LITTLE HELPED. 



As the time drew near at which Mr. Lincoln said he v;ouId issue the 
Emancipation Proclamation, some clergymen, who feared the President 
might change his mind, called on him to urge him to keep his promise. 

"We were usliered into the Cabinet room," says Dr. 
Sunderland. "It was very dim, but one gas jet burning. 
As we entered, Mr. Lincoln was standing at the farther 

end of the long table, which filled the center 

of the room. As I stood by the door, I am 

so very short, that I was obliged to look 

up to see the President. Mr. Robbins 





374 "ABE'- LINCOLN'S 

introduced me, and I began at once by saying: 'I have come, Mr. President, 
to anticipate the new year with my respects, and if I may, to say to you 
a word about the serious condition of this country.' 

"'Go ahead, Doctor,' replied the President; 'every little helps.' But I 
was too much in earnest to laugh at his sally at my smallness." 



ABOTIT TO LAY DOWN THE BURDEN. 

President Lincoln (at times) said he felt sure his life would end with the 
iWar. A correspondent of a Boston paper had an interview with him in July, 
1864, and wrote regarding it : 

"The President told me he was certain he should not outlast the rebel- 
lion. As will be remembered, there was dissension then among the Repub- 
lican leaders. Many of his best friends had deserted him, and were talking 
of an opposition convention to nominate another candidate, and universal 
gloom was among the people. 

"The North was tired of the War, and supposed an honorable peace 
attainable. Mr. Lincoln knew it was not — that any peace at that time would 
be only disunion. Speaking of it, he said : 'I have faith in the people. They 
will not consent to disunion. The danger is, they are misled. Let them 
know the truth, and the country is safe.' 

"He looked haggard and careworn; and further on in the interview I 
remarked on his appearance, 'You are wearing yourself out with work.' 

" 'I can't work less,' he answered; 'but it isn't that — work never troubled 
me. Things look badly, and I can't avoid anxiety. Personally, I care noth- 
ing about a re-election, but if our divisions defeat us, I fear for the country.' 

"When I suggested that right must eventually triumph, he replied, 
'I grant that, but I may never live to see it. I feel a presentiment that I 
shall not outlast the rebellion. When it is over, my work will be done.' 

"He never intimated, however, that he expected to be assassinated." 



UNCOLN WOULD HAVE PREEEREED DEATH. 

Horace Greeley said, some time after the death of President Lincoln; 
"After the Civil War began, Lincoln's tenacity of purpose paralleled his 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



375 



former immobility; I believe he would have been nearly the last, if not the 
very last, man in America to recognize the Southern Confederacy had its 
armies been triumphant. He would have preferred death." 



'PUNCH" AND HIS LITTLE PICTTTKE. 



London "Punch" was not satisfied with anything President Lincoln did. 
On December 3rd, 1864, after Mr. Lincoln's re-election to the Presidency, a 
cartoon appeared in one of the pages of that genial publication, the repro- 
duction being printed here, labeled "The Federal Phcenix." It attracted 
great attention at the time, and was particularly pleasing to the enemies of 
the United States, as it 
showed Lincoln as the Phcje- 
nix arising from the ashes of 
the Federal Constitution, 
the Public Credit, the Free- 
dom of the Press, State 
Rights and the Commerce 
of the North American Re- 
public. 

President Lincoln's en- 
dorsement by the people of 
the United States meant 
that the Confederacy was 
to be crushed, no matter 
what the cost; that the 
Union of States was to be 
preserved, and that State 
Rights was a thing of the 
past. "Punch" wished to 
create the impression that 
President Lincoln's re-election was a personal victory; that he would set up 
a despotism, with himself at its head, and trample upon the Constitution of 
the United States and all the rights the citizens of the Republic ever pos- 
sessed. 

The result showed that "Punch" was suffering from an acute attack of 
needless alarm. 




376 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

FASCINATED BY THE WONDEKFUL. 

Lincoln was particularly fascinated by the wonderful happenings recorded 
in history. He loved to read of those mighty events which had been fore- 
told, and often brooded upon these subjects. His early convictions upon 
occult matters led him to read all books tending to strengthen these con- 
victions. 

The following lines, in Byron's "Dream," were frequently quoted by him : 

"Sleep hath its own world, 
A boundary between the things misnamed 
Death and existence: Sleep hath its own world 
And a wide realm of wild reality. 
And dreams in their development have breath, 
And tears and tortures, and the touch of joy; 
They leave a weight upon our waking thoughts, 
They take a weight from ofif our waking toils, 
They do divide our being." 

Those with whom he was associated in his early youth and young man- 
hood, and with whom he was always in cordial sympathy, were thorough 
believers in presentiments and dreams; and so Lincoln drifted on through 
years of toil and exceptional hardship — meditative, aspiring, certain of his 
star, but appalled at times by its malignant aspect. Many times prior to his 
first election to the Presidency he was both elated and alarmed by what 
seemed to him a rent in the veil which hides from mortal view what the 
future holds. 

He saw, or thought he saw, a vision of glory and of blood, himself the 
central figure in a scene which his fancy transformed from giddy enchant- 
ment to the most appalling tragedy. 



"WHY DON'T THEY COME!" 

The suspense of the days when the capital was isolated, the expected 
troops not arriving, and an hourly attack feared, wore on Mr. Lincoln 
greatly. 

"I begin to believe," he said bitterly, one day, to some Massachusetts 
soldiers, "that there is no North. The Seventh Regiment is a myth. Rhode 
Island is another. You are the only real thing." 



YARNS 'AND STORIES. 277 

And again, after pacing tlie floor of liis deserted office for a half-hour, he 
was heard to exclaim to himself, in an anguished tone: "Why don't they 
come ! Why don't they come !" 



GKANT'S BRAND OF WHISKEY. 

Lincoln was not a man of impulse, and did nothing upon the spur of 
the moment; action with him was the result of deliberation and study. He 
took nothing for granted; he judged men by tlieir performances and not 
their speech. 

If a general lost battles, Lincoln lost confidence in him; if a commander 
was successful, Lincoln put him where he would be of the most service to 
the country. 

"Grant is a drunkard," asserted powerful and intfuential politicians to 
the President at the White House time after time; "he is not himself half 
the time; he can't be relied upon, and it is a shame to have such a man in 
command of an army." 

"So Grant gets drunk, does he?" (jueried Lincoln, addressing himself to 
one of the particularly active detractors of the soldier, who, at that period, 
was inflicting heavy damage upon the Confederates. 

"Yes, he does, and I can prove it," was the reply. 

"Well," returned Lincoln, with the faintest suspicion of a twinkle in his 
eye, "you needn't waste your time getting proof; you just find out, to oblige 
me, what brand of whiskey Grant drinks, because I want to send a barrel 
of it to each one of my generals." 

That ended the crusade against Grant, so far as the question of drinking 
was concerned. 



HIS FINANCIAL STANDING. 

A New York firm applied to Abraham Lincoln, some years before he 
became President, for information as to the financial standing of one of his 
neighbors. Mr. Lincoln replied : 

"I am well acquainted with Mr. , and know his circumstances. First 

of all, he has a Avife and baby; together they ought to be worth $50,000 to 



378 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

any man. Secondly, he has an office in which there is a table worth $1.50 
and three chairs worth, say. $1. Last of all. there is in one corner a large rat 
hole, which will bear looking into. Respectfully, A. Lincoln." 



THE DANDY AND THE BOYS. 

President Lincoln appointed as consul to a South American country a 
young man from Ohio who was a dandy. A wag met the new appointee on 
his way to the White House to thank the President. He was dressed in 
the most extravagant style. The wag horrified him by telling him that the 
country to which he was assigned was noted chiefly for the bugs that 
abounded there and made life unbearable. 

"They'll bore a hole clean through you before a week has passed," was 
the comforting assurance of the wag as they parted at the White House 
steps. The new consul approached Lincoln with disappointment clearly writ- 
ten all over his face. Instead of joyously thanking the President, he told him 
the wag's story of the bugs. "I am informed, Mr. President," he said, "that 
the place is full of vermin and that they could eat me up in a week's time." 
"Well, young man," replied Lincoln, "if that's true, all I've got to say is 
that if such a thing happened they would leave a mighty good suit of 
clothes behind." 



"SOME UGLY OLD LA^WYER." 

A. W. Swan, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, told this story on Lincoln, 
being an eye-witness of the scene : 

"One day President Lincoln was met in the park between the White 
House and the War Department by an irate private soldier, who was swear- 
ing in a high key, cursing the Government from the President down. Mr. 
Lincoln paused and asked him what was the matter. 'Matter enough,* was 
the reply. 'I want my money. I have been discharged here, and can't get 
my pay.' Mr. Lincoln asked if he had his papers, saying that he used to 
practice law in a small way, and possibly could help him. 

"My friend and I stepped behind some convenient shrubbery where we 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



279 



could watch the result. Mr. Lincoln took the papers from the hands of the 

crippled soldier, and sat down with him at the foot of a convenient tree, where 
he examined them carefully, and writing a line on the back, told the soldier to 
take them to Mr. Potts. Chief Clerk of the War Department, who would 
doubtless attend to the matter at once. 

"After Mr. Lincoln had left the soldier, we stepped out and asked him 
if he knew whom he had been talking with. 'Some ugly old fellow who 
pretends to be a lawyer,' was the reply. My companion asked to see the 
papers, and on their being handed to him, pointed to the indorsement they 
had received : This indorsement read : 

■' 'Mr. Potts, attend to this man's case at once and see that he gets his 
pay. A. L.' " 



GOOD MEMORY OF NAMES. 

Tnc following story illustrates the power of Mr. Lincoln's memory of 
names and faces. When he was a comparatively young man, and a candi- 
date for the Illinois Legislature, he made a personal canvass of the district. 
While "swinging around the circle" he stopped one day and took dinner with 
a farmer in Sangamon county. 

Years afterward, when Mr. Lmcoln had become President, a soldier 
came to call on him at the White House. At the first glance the Chief Exec- 
utive said: "Yes, I remember; you used to live on the Danville road. I 
took dinner with you when I was running for the Legislature. I recollect 
that we stood talking out at the barnyard gate while I sharpened my 
jackknife." 

"Y-a-a-s," drawled the soldier, "you did. But say, wherever did you put 
that whetstone? I looked for it a dozen times, but I never could find it 
after the day you used it. We allowed as how mabby you took it 'long with 
you." 

"No," said Lincoln, looking serious and pushing away a lot of docu- 
ments of state from the desk in front of him. "No, I put it on top of that 
gatepost — that high one." 

"Well !" exclaimed the visitor, "mabby you did. Couldn't anybody else 
have put it there, and none of us ever thought of looking there for it." 

The soldier was then on his way home, and when he got there the first 



38o "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

thing he did was to look for the whetstone. And sure enough, there it was, 
just where Lincohi had laid it fifteen years before. The honest fellow wrote 
a letter to the Chief Magistrate, telling him that the whetstone had been 
found, and would never be lost again. 



SETTLED OUT OF COUET. 

When Abe Lincoln used to be drifting around the country, practicing 
law in Fulton and Menard counties, Illinois, an old fellow met him going to 
Lewiston, riding a horse which, while it was a serviceable enough animal, 
was not of the kind to be truthfully called a fine saddler. It was a weather- 
beaten nag, patient and plodding, and it toiled along with Abe — and Abe's 
books, tucked away in saddle-bags, lay heavy on the horse's flank. 

"Hello, Uncle Tommy," said Abe. 

"Hello, Abe," responded Uncle Tommy. "I'm powerful glad to see ye, 
Abe, fer I'm gwyne to have sumthin' fer ye at Lewiston co't, I reckon." 

"How's that. Uncle Tommy?" said Abe. 

"Well, Jim Adams, his land runs 'long o' mine, he's pesterin' me a heap, 
an' I got to get the law on Jim, I reckon." 

"Uncle Tommy, you haven't had any fights with Jim, have you?" 

"No." 

"He's a fair to middling neighbor, isn't he?" 

"Only tollable, Abe." 

"He's been a neighbor of yours for a long time, hasn't he?'' 

"Nigh on to fifteen year." 

"Part of the time you get along all right, don't you?" 

"I reckon we do, Abe." 

"Well, now, Uncle Tommy, you see this horse of mine? He isn't as good 
a horse as I could straddle, and I sometimes get out of patience with him, 
but I know his faults. He does fairly well as horses go, and it might take 
me a long time to get used to some other horse's faults. For all horses 
have faults. You and Uncle Jimmy must put up with each other as I and 
my horse do with one another." 

"I reckon, Abe," said Uncle Tommy, as he bit off about four ounces of 
Missouri plug. "I reckon you're about right." 

And Abe Lincoln, with a smile on his gaunt face, rode on toward Lew- 
iston. 



YAR^WS AXD STORIES. 



38' 



THE FIVE POINTS SUNDAY SCHOOL. 

When Mr. Lincoln visited New York in i860, he felt a great interest 
in many of the institutions for reforming criminals and saving the young 
from a life of crime. Among others, he visited, unat- 
tended, the Five Points House of Industry, and the su- 
perintendent of the Sabbath school there gave the fol- 
lowing account of the event : 

"One Sunday morning 1 saw a tall, remarkable- 
looking man enter the 
^_ /^ room and take a seat 

■--''- -^ ">- among us. He listened 
with fixed attention to 
our exercises, and his 
countenance express- 
ed such genuine in- 
terest that I ap- 
proached him and 
suggested that he 
might be willing to 
say something to the 
children. He accepted 
the invitation with 
evident pleasure, and 
coming forward be- 
gan a simple address, 
which at once fascinated every little hearer and hushed the room into silence. 
His language was strikingly beautiful, and his tones musical with intense feel- 
ing. The little faces would droop into sad conviction when he uttered sen- 
tences of warning, and would brighten into sunshine as he spoke cheerful 
words of promise. Once or twice he attempted to close his remarks, but 
the imperative shout of, 'Go on ! Oh. do go on !' would compel him to 
resume. 

"As I looked upon the gaunt and sinewy frame of the stranger, and 
marked his powerful head and determined features, now- touched into soft- 
ness by the impressions of the moment, I felt an irrepressible curiosity to 
learn something more about him, and while he was quietly leaving the room, 
I begged to know his name. He courteously replied : 'It is Abraham Lincoln, 
from Illinois.' " 




382 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 



SENTINEL OBEYED ORDEES. 

A slight variation of the traditional sentry story is related by C. C. Buel. 
It was a cold, blusterous winter night. Says Mr. Buel: 

"Mr. Lincoln emerged from the front door, his lank figure bent over as he 
drew tightly about his shoulders the shawl which he employed for such pro- 
tection; for he was on his way to the War Department, at the west corner 
of the grounds, where in times of battle he was wont to get the midnight dis- 
patches from the field. As the blast struck him he thought of the numbness 
of the pacing sentry, and, turning to him, said : 'Young man, you've got a 
cold job to-night; step inside, and stand guard there.' 

" 'My orders keep me out here,' the soldier replied. 

"'Yes,' said the President, in his argumentative tone; "but your duty 
can be performed just as well inside as out here, and you'll oblige me by 
going in.' 

" 'I have been stationed outside,' the soldier answered, and resumed his 
beat. 

•" 'Hold on there!' said Mr. Lincoln, as he turned back again; 'it occurs 
to me that I am Commander-in-Chief of the army, and I order you to go 
inside.' " 



WHY LINCOLN GEOWED WHISKEES. 

Perhaps the majority of people in the United States don't know why Lin- 
coln "growed" whiskers after his first nomination for the Presidency. Before 
that time his face was clean shaven. 

In the beautiful village of Westfield, Chautauqua county, New York, 
there lived, in i860, little Grace Bedell. During the campaign of that year 
she saw a portrait of Lincoln, for whom she felt the love and reverence that 
was common in Republican families, and his smooth, homely face rather dis- 
appointed her. She said to her mother: "I think, mother, that Mr. Lin' 
coin would look better if he wore whiskers, and I mean to write and tell 
him so." 

The mother gave her permission. 

Grace's father was a Republican; her two brothers were Democrats. 
Grace wrote at once to the "Hon. Abraham Lincoln, Esq., Springfield, Illi- 
nois," in which she told him how old she was, and where she lived; that she 



YARNS AND STORIES. 383 

was a Republican; that she thought he would make a good President, b-.:! 
would look better if he would let his v.hiskers grow. If he would do so. she 
would try to coax her brothers to vote for him. She thought the rail fence 
around the picture of his cabin was very pretty. "If you have not time to 
answer my letter, will you allow your little girl to reply for you?" 

Lincoln was much pleased with the letter, and decided to answer it, which 
he did at once, as follows : 

"Springfield, Illinois. October 19, i860. 
"Miss Grace Bedell. 

"My Dear Little Miss : Your very agreeable letter of the fifteenth is 

received. I regret the necessity of saying I have no daughter. I have three 

sons; one seventeen, one nine and one seven years of age. They, with 

their mother, constitute my whole family. As to the whiskers, having never 

worn any, do you not think people would call it a piece of silly affectation if 

I should begin it now? Your very sincere well-wisher, A. LINCOLN." 

When on the journey to Washington to be inaugurated, Lincoln's train 
stopped at Westfield. He recollected his little correspondent and spoke 01 
her to ex-Lieutenant Governor George W. Patterson, who called out and 
asked if Grace Bedell was present. 

There was a large surging mass of people gathered about the train, but 
Grace was discovered at a distance; the crowd opened a pathway to the 
coach, and she came, timidly but gladly, to the President-elect, who told her 
that she might see that he had allowed his whiskers to grow at her request. 
Then, reaching out his long arms, he drew her up to him and kissed her. 
The act drew an enthusiastic demonstration of approval from the multi- 
tude. 

Grace married a Kansas banker, and became Grace Bedell Billings. 



LINCOLN AS A DANCER. 

Lincoln made his first appearance in society when he was first sent to 
Springfield, 111., as a member of the State Legislature. It was not an impos- 
ing figure which he cut in a ballroom, but still he was occasionally to be 
found there. Miss Mary Todd, who afterward became his wife, was the mag- 
net which drew the tall, awkward young man from his den. One evening 
Lincoln approached Miss Todd, and said, in his peculiar idiom: 

"Miss Todd, I should like to dance with you the worst way." 



384 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

Tlie young woman accepted the inevitable, and hobbled around the room 
with him. When she returned to her seat, one of her companions asked 
mischievously : 

"Well, Mary, did he dance with you the worst way." 

"Yes," she answered, "the very worst." 



SIMPLY PRACTICAL HUMANITY. 

An instance of young Lincoln's practical humanity at an early period of 
his life is recorded in this way : 

One evening, while returning from a "raising" in his wide neighborhood, 
with a num.ber of companions, he discovered a stray horse, with saddle and 
bridle upon him. The horse was recognized as belonging to a man who 
was accustomed to get drunk, and it was suspected at once that he was not 
far off. A short search only was necessary to confirm the belief. 

The poor drunkard was found in a perfectly helpless condition, upon 
the chilly ground. Abraham's companions urged the cowardly policy of 
leaving him to his fate, but young Lincoln would not hear to the proposi- 
tion. 

At his request, the miserable sot was Hfted on his shoulders, and he actu- 
ally carried him eighty rods to the nearest house. 

Sending word to his father that he should not be back that night, with 
the reason for his absence, he attended and nursed the man until the morn- 
ing, and had the pleasure of believing that he had saved his life. 



HAPPY FIGURES OF SPEECH. 

On one occasion, exasperated at the discrepancy between the aggre- 
gate of troops forwarded to McClellan and the number that same general 
reported as having received, Lincoln exclaimed : "Sending men to that 
army is like shoveling fleas across a barnyard — half of them never get there." 

To a politician who had criticised his course, he wrote : "Would you 
have me drop the War where it is, or would you prosecute it in future with 
elder stalk squirts charged with rosewater?" 

When, on his first arrival in Washington as President, he found himself 



YARNS 'AND STORIES. 385 

besieged by office-seekers, while the War was breaking out, he said : "I feel 
like a man letting lodgings at one end of his house while the other end is on 
fire." 



A FEW "RHYTHMIC SHOTS." 

Ward Lamon, Marshal of the District of Columbia during Lincoln's time 
in Washington, accompanied the President everywhere. He was a good 
singer, and, when Lincoln was in one of his melancholy moods, would "fire 
a few rhythmic shots" at the President to cheer the latter. Lincoln keenly 
relished nonsense in the shape of witty or comic ditties. A parody of "A 
Life on the Ocean Wave" was always pleasing to him: 

"Oh, a life on the ocean wave. 

And a home on the rolling deep! 
With ratlins fried three times a day 

And a leaky old berth for to sleep; 
Where the gray-beard cockroach roams, 

On thoughts of kind intent. 
And the raving bedbug comes 

The road the cockroach went." 

Lincoln could not control his laughter when he heard songs of this sort. 
He was fond of negro melodies, too, and "The Blue-Tailed Fly" was a great 
favorite with him. He often called for that buzzing ballad when he and 
Lamon were alone, and he wanted to throw off the weight of public and 
private cares. The ballad of "The Blue-Tailed Fly" contained two verses, 
which ran : 

"When I was young I used to wait 
At massa's table, 'n' hand de plate. 
An' pass de bottle when he was dry. 
An' brush away de blue-tailed fly. 

"Or massa's dead; oh, let him rest! 
Dey say all things am for de best ; 
But I can't forget until I die 
or massa an' de blue-tailed fly." 

While humorous songs delighted the President, he also loved to listen to 



386 'ABE" LINCOLN'S 

patriotic airs and ballads containing sentiment. He was fond of hearing 
"The Sword of Bunker Hill," '"Ben Bolt," and "The Lament of the Irish 
Emigrant." His preference of the verses in the latter was this : 

"I'm lonely now, Mary, 

For the poor make no new friends; 
But, oh, they love the better still 

The few our Father sends ! 
And you were all I had, Mary, 

My blessing and my pride; 
There's nothing left to care for now, 

Since my poor Mary died." 

. Those who knew Lincoln were well aware he was incapable of so mon- 
strous an act as that of wantonly insulting the dead, as was charged in the 
infamous libel which asserted that he listened to a comic song on the field 
of Antietam, before the dead were buried. 



OLD MAN GLENN'S RELIGION. 

Mr. Lincoln once remarked to a friend that his religion was like that of an 
old man named Glenn, in Indiana, whom he heard speak at a church meet- 
ing, and who said: "When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad. I feel 
bad; and that's my religion." 

Mrs. Lincoln herself has said that Mr. Lincoln had no faith — no faith, in 
the usual acceptance of those words. "He never joined a church; but still, 
as I believe, he was a religious man by nature. He first seemed to think 
about the subject when our boy Willie died, and then more than ever about 
the time he went to Gettysburg; but it was a kind of poetry in his nature, and 
he never was a technical Christian." 



LAST ACTS OF MERCY. 

During the afternoon preceding his assassination the President signed a 
pardon for a soldier sentenced to be shot for desertion, Remarking as he did 
so, "Well, I think the boy can do us more good above ground than under 
ground " 

He also approved an application for the discharge, on taking the oath 




CHARLES SLMXER, ullhough an uri:5tocrat by birth and education, was a sincere 
friend of the Martyr President, being quick to recognize the great qualities of the latter. 
He was an intimate at the White House, and gave the President the benefit of his advice 
when the country was compelled to face serious problems. From the first he insisted that 
the United States must surrender the Confederate Commissioners, Mason and Slidell. 
His judgment agreed with Lincoln's. Mr. Sumner was born in Massachusetts in 1811, 
represented it in the United States Senate many years, and died in 1874. (387) 




BENJAMIN B. WADE, United Staus Senator irom Ohio during the War, was one 
of the men who antagonized President Lincohi and did much to annoy and harass him. 
His attitude, however, was not one of personal hostility to the President. Senator Wade 
was President of the United States Senate when President Andrew Johnson was impeached, 
and had the latter been found guilty and removed from office Senator Wade would have 
been his successor in the White House. It is said Wade had made every preparation to 
move into "the house at the other end ot the avenue." Ht was born in Massachuset'.i 
in iSoo, and died in 1878. (388) 



YARNS AND STORIES. 389 

of allegiance, of a rebel prisoner, in whose petition he wrote, "Let it be 
done." 

This act of mercy was his last ofBcial order. 



JTJST LIKE SEWARD. 



The first corps of the army commanded by General Reynolds was once 
reviewed by the President on a beautiful plain at the north of Potomac 
Creek, about eight miles from Hooker's headquarters. The party rode 
thither in an ambulance over a rough corduroy road, and as they passed 
over some of the more difficult portions of the jolting way the ambulance 
driver, w^ho sat well in front, occasionally let fly a volley of suppressed oaths 
at his wild team of six mules. 

Finally, Mr. Lincoln, leaning forward, touched the man on the shoulder 
and said: 

"Excuse me, my friend, are you an Episcopalian?" 

The man, greatly startled, looked around and replied : 

"No, Mr. President; I am a Methodist." 

"Well," said Lincoln, "I thought you must be an Episcopalian, because 
you swear just like Governor Seward, who is a church warden." 



A CHEERFTTI FBOSPEOT. 

The first night after the departure of President-elect Lincoln from Springs- 
field, on his way to Washington, was spent in Indianapolis. Governor Yates, 
O. H. Browning, Jesse K. Dubois, O. M. Hatch, Josiah Allen, of Indiana, and 
others, after taking leave of Mr. Lincoln to return to their respective homes, 
took Ward Lamon into a room, locked the door, and proceeded in the most 
solemn and impressive manner to instruct him as to his duties as the special 
guardian of Mr. Lincoln's person during the rest of his journey to Wash- 
ington. Lamon tells the story as follows : 

"The lesson was concluded by Uncle Jesse, as Mr. Dubois was commonly 
called, who said: 

" 'Now, Lamon, we have regarded you as the Tom Hyer of Illinois, with 



3SKJ "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

Moirissey attachment. We intrust the sacred hfe of Mr. Lincohi to your 
keeping; and if you don't protect it, never return to IlHnois, for \ve will 
murder you on sight.' " 



THOUGHT GOD WOULD HAVE TOLD HIM. 

Professor Jonathan Baldwin Turner was one of the few men to whom 
Mr. Lincohi confided his intention to issue the Proclamation of Emancipa- 
tion. 

Mr. Lincoln told his Illinois friend of the visit of a delegation to him 
who claimed to have a message from God that the War would not be suc- 
cessful without the freeing of the negroes, to whom Mr. Lincoln replied : 
"Is it not a little strange that He should tell this to you, who have so little 
to do with it, and should not have told me, who has a great deal to do 
with it?" 

At the same time he informed Professor Turner he had his Proclamation 
in his pocket. 

LINCOLN AND A BIBLE HEEO. 

A writer who heard Mr. Lincoln's famous speech delivered in New York 
after his nomination for President has left this record of the event : 

"When Lincoln rose to speak, I was greatly disappointed. He was tall, 
tall, oh, so tall, and so angular and awkward that I had for an instant a 
feeling of pity for so ungainly a man. He began in a low tone of voice, as 
if he were used to speaking out of doors and was afraid of speaking too 
loud. 

"He said 'Mr. Cheerman,' instead of 'Mr. Chairman,' and employed 
many other words with an old-fashioned pronunciation. I said to myself, 
'Old fellow, you won't do; it is all very well for the Wild West, but this will 
never go down in New York.' But pretty soon he began to get into the 
subject; he straightened up, made regular and graceful gestures; his face 
lighted as with an inward fire; the whole man was transfigured. 

"I forgot the clothing, his personal appearance, and his individual pecu- 
liarities. Presently, forgetting myself, I was on my feet with the rest, yelling 
like a wild Indian, cheering the wonderful man. In the close parts of his 
argument you could hear the gentle sizzling of the gas burners. 



YARNS AND STORIES. jyi 

"When he reached a climax the thunders of applause were terrific. It 
was a great speech. When I came out of the hall my face was glowing with 
excitement and my frame all a-quiver. A friend, with his eyes aglow, asked 
me what I thought of 'Abe' Lincoln, the rail-splitter. I said, 'He's the 
greatest man since St. Paul.' And I think so yet." 



BOY WAS CARED FOR. 

President Lincoln one day noticed a small, pale, delicate-looking boy, 
about thirteen years old, among the number in the White House ante- 
chamber. 

The President saw him standing there, looking so feeble and faint, and 
said: "Come here, my boy, and tell me what you want." 

The boy advanced, placed his hand on the arm of the President's chair, 
and, with a bowed head and timid accents, said: "Mr. President, I have 
been a drummer boy in a regiment for two years, and my colonel got angry 
with me and turned me off. I was taken sick and have been a long time in 
the hospital." 

The President discovered that the boy had no home, no father — he had 
died in the army — no mother. 

"I have no father, no mother, no brothers, no sisters, and," bursting into 
tears, "no friends — nobody cares for me." 

Lincoln's eyes filled with tears, and the boy's heart was soon made glad 
by a request to certain officials "to care for this poor boy." 



THE JURY ACaUITTED HIM. 

One of the most noted murder cases in which Lincoln defended the 
accused was tried in August, 1859. The victim, Crafton, was a student in his 
own law ofifice. the defendant, "Peachy" Harrison, was a grandson of Rev. 
Peter Cartwright; both were connected with the best families in the county; 
they were brothers-in-law, and had always been friends. 

Senator John M. Palmer and General John A. McClernand were on the 
side of the prosecution. Among those who represented the defendant were 
Lincoln and Senator Shefby M. Cullom. The two young men had engaged 
in a political quarrel, and Crafton was stabbed to death by Harrison, 



392 - "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

The tragic pathos of a case which involved the deepest affections of 
alnaost an entire community reached its climax in the appearance in court 
of the venerable Peter Cartwright. Lincoln had beaten him for Congress 
in 1846. 

Eccentric and aggressive as he was, he was honored far and wide; and 
jwhen he arose to take the witness stand, his white hair crowned with this cruel 
sorrow, the most indififerent spectator felt that his examination would be 
unbearable. 

It fell to Lincoln to question Cartwright. With the rarest gentleness he 
began to put his questions. 

"How long have you known the prisoner?" 

Cartwright's head dropped on his breast for a moment; then straighten- 
ing himself, he passed his hand across his eyes and answered in a deep, 
quavering voice: 

'I have known him since a babe, he laughed and cried on my knee." 

The examination ended by Lincoln drawing from the witness the story 
of how Crafton had said to him, just before his death: "I am dying; I will 
soon part with all I love on earth, and I want you to say to my slayer that 
I forgive him. I want to leave this earth with a forgiveness of all who have 
in any way injured me." 

This examination made a profound impression on the jury. Lincoln 
closed his argument by picturing the scene anew, appealing to the jury to 
practice the same forgiving spirit that the murdered man had shown on his 
death-bed. It was undoubtedly to his handling of the grandfather's evi- 
dence that Harrison's acquittal was due. 



TOOK NOTHING BUT MONEY. 

During the War Congress appropriated $10,000 to be expended by the 
President in defending United States Marshals in cases of arrests and seizures 
where the legality of their actions was tested in the courts. Previously the 
Marshals sought the assistance of the Attorney-General in defending them, 
but when they found that the President had a fund for that purpose they 
sought to control the money. 

In speaking of these Marshals one day, Mr. Lincoln said : 
"They are like a man in Illinois, whose cabin was burned down, and, 
according to the kindly custom of early days in the West, his neighbors all 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



393 



contributed something to start him again. In his case they had been so 
liberal that he soon found himself better off than before the fire, and he got 
proud. One day a neighbor brought him a bag of oats, but the fellow 
refused it with scorn. 

" 'No/ said he, 'I'm not taking oats now. I take nothing but money.' " 



NAUGHTY BOY HAD TO TAKE HIS MEDICIHE. 



The resistance to the military draft of 1863 by the City of New York, 
the result of which was the killing of several thousand persons, was illus- 
trated on August 29th, 1863, by "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper," 

over the title of "The 
Naughty Boy. Gotham, 
Who Would Not Take the 
Draft." Beneath was also 
the text : 

MAMMY LINCOLN: 
"There now, you bad boy, 
acting that way, when your 
little sister Penn (State of 
Pennsylvania) takes hers 
like a kdy!" 

Horatio Seymour was 
then Governor of New 
York, and a prominent "the 
War is a failure" advocate. 
He was in Albar^', the State 
capital, when the riots 
broke out in the City of 
New York, July 13th, and 
after the mob had burned 
the Colored Orphan Asy- 
lum and killed several hun- 
dred negroes, came to the 
city. He had only soft 
words for the rioters, promising them that the draft should be suspended. 
Then the Government sent several regiments of veterans, fresh from the 




394 "ABE" LIXCOLN'S 

field of Gettysburg, where they had assisted in defeating Lee. These troops 
made short work of the brutal ruffians, shooting down three thousand or so 
of them, and the rioting was subdued. The "Naughty Boy Gotham" had to 
take his medicine, after all, but as the spirit of opposition to the War was 
still rampant, the President issued a proclamation suspending the writ of 
habeas corpus in all the States of the Union where the Government had 
control. This had a quieting effect upon those who were doing what they 
could in obstructing the Government. 



WOULD BLOW THEM TO H . 

Mr. Lincoln had advised Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott, commanding 
the United States Army, of the threats of violence on inauguration day, i86l. 
General Scott was sick in bed at Washington when Adjutant-General 
Thomas Mather, of Illinois, called upon him in President-elect Lincoln's 
behalf, and the veteran commander was much wrougkt up. Said he to 
General Mather: 

"Present my compliments to Mr. Lincoln when yow return to Spring- 
field, and tell him I expect him to come on to Washington as soon as he is 
ready; say to him that I will look after those Maryland and Virginia rangers 
myself. I will plant cannon at both ends of Pennsylvania avenue, and if any 
of them show their heads or raise a fino-er, PU blow them to h — ." 



"YANKEE" GOODNESS OF HEART. 

One day, when the President was with the troops who were fighting at 
the front, the wounded, both Union and Confederate, began to pour in. 

As one stretcher was passing Lincoln, he heard the voice of a lad calling 
to his mother in agonizing tones. His great heart filled. He forgot the 
crisis of the hour. Stopping the carriers, he knelt, and bending over him, 
asked: "What can I do for you, my poor child?" 

"Oh, you will do nothing for me," he replied. "You are a Yankee. I 
cannot hope that my message to my mother will ever reach her." 

Lincoln, in tears, his voice full of tenderest love, convinced the boy of 
his sincerity, and he gave his good-bye words without reserve. 



YARNS "AND STORIES. 395 

The President directed them copied, and ordered that they be sent that 
night, with a flag of truce, into the enemy's lines. 



WALKED AS HE TALKED. 

When ;\Ir. Lincoln made his famous humorous speech in Congress 
ridicuHng General Cass, he began to speak from notes, but, as he warmed up, 
he left his desk and his notes, to stride down the alley toward the Speaker's 
chair. 

Occasionally, as he would complete a sentence amid shouts of laughter, 
lie would return up the alley to his desk, consult his notes, take a sip of water 
and start off again. 

Mr. Lincoln received many congratulations at the close. Democrats 
joining the Whigs in their complimentary comments. 

One Democrat, however (who had been nicknamed "Sausage" Sawyer), 
didn't enthuse at all. 

"Sawyer," asked an Eastern Representative, "how did you like the 
lanky Illinoisan's speech? Very able, wasn't it?" 

"Well," replied Sawyer, "the speech was pretty good, but I hope he won't 
charge mileage on his travels while delivering it." 



THE SONG DID THE BUSINESS. 

The Virginia (111.) Enquirer, of Alarch i, 1879, tells this story: 

"John McNamer was buried last Sunday, near Petersburg, Menard 
county. A long while ago he was Assessor and Treasurer of the County 
for several successive terms. Mr. McNamer was an early settler in that 
section, and, before the town of Petersburg was laid out, in business in Old 
Salem, a village that existed many years ago two miles south of the present 
site of Petersburg. 

" 'Abe' Lincoln was then postmaster of the place and sold whisky to its 
inhabitants. There are old-timers yet living in Menard who bought many 
a jug of corn-juice from 'Old Abe' when he lived at Salem. It was here 
that Anne Rutledge dwelt, and in whose grave Lincoln wrote that his heart 
was buried. 

".As the story runs, the fair and gentle Anne was originally John Mc- 



396 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

Namer's sweetheart, but 'Abe' took a 'shine' to the young lady, and suc- 
ceeded in heading off McNamer and won her affections. But Anne Rutledge 
died, and Lincoln went to Springfield, where he some time afterwards 
married. 

"It is related that during the War a lady belonging to a prominent Ken- 
tucky family visited Washington to beg for her son's pardon, who was then 
in prison under sentence of death for belonging to a band of guerrillas who 
had committed many murders and outrages. 

"With the mother was her daughter, a beautiful young lady, who was 
an accomplished musician. Mr. Lincoln received the visitors in his usual 
kind manner, and the mother made known the object of her visit, accompany- 
ing her plea with tears and sobs and all the customary romantic incidents. 

"There were probably extenuating circumstances in favor of the young 
rebel prisoner, and while the President seemed to be deeply pondering the 
young lady moved to a piano near by and taking a seat commenced to sing 
'Gentle Annie,' a very sweet and pathetic ballad which, before the War, was 
a familiar song in almost every household in the Union, and is not yet 
entirely forgotten, for that matter. 

"It is to be presumed that the young lady sang the song with more 
plaintiveness and effect than 'Old Abe' had ever heard it in Springfield. 
During its rendition, he arose from his seat, crossed the room to a window 
in the westward, through which he gazed for several minutes with a 'sad, 
far-away look," -ji^hich has so often been noted as one of his peculiarities. 

"His memory, no doubt, went back to the days of his humble life on the 
Sangamon, and with visions of Old Salem and its rustic people, who once 
gathered in his primitive store, came a picture of the 'Gentle Annie' of his 
youth, whose ashes had rested for many k)rg years under the wild flowers 
and brambles of the old rural burying-ground, but whose spirit then, per- 
haps, guided him to the side of mercy. 

"Be that as it may, President Lincoln drew a large red silk handkerchief 
from his coat-pocket, with which he wiped his face vigorously. Then he 
turned, advanced quickly to his desk, wrote a brief note, which he handed 
to the lady, and informed her that it was the pardon she sought. 

"The scene was no doubt touching in a great degree and proves that a 
nice song, well sung, has often a powerful influence in recalling tender 
recollections. It proves, also, that Abraham Lincoln was a man of fine 
feelings, and that, if the occurrence was a put-up job on the lady's part, it 
accomplished the purpose all the same." 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



397 



A "FEEE FOS ALL." 

Lincoln made a political speech at Pappsville, Illinois, ^vhen a candidate 
for the Legislature the first time. A free-for-all fight began soon after the 
opening of the meeting, and Lincoln, noticing orj^t^t his friends about to 
succumb to the energetic attack of an infuriated ruflian, edged his uay 
through the crowd, and. seizing the bully by the neck and the seat of his 




trousers, threw him, by means of his strength and long arms, as one wit- 
ness stoutly insists, "tuelve feet away." Returning to the stand, and throw- 
ing asiae his hat, he inaugurated his campaign with the following brief but 
pertinent declaration : 

"Fellow-citizens. I presume you all know who I am. I am humble Abra- 
ham Lincoln. I have been solicited by many friends to become 3 candidate 



398 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

for the Legislature. My politics are short and sweet, like the old woman's 
dance. I am in favor of the national bank; I am in favor of the internal 
improvement system and a high protective tariff. These are my sentiments; 
if elected, I shall be thankful; if not, it will be all the same." 



THREE INFERNAL BORES. 

One day, when President Lincoln was alone and busily engaged on an 
important subject, involving vexation and anxiety, he was disturbed by the 
imwarranted intrusion of three men, who, without apology, proceeded to 
lay their claim before him. 

The spokesman of the three reminded the President that they were the 
owners of some torpedo or other warlike invention which, if tlie government 
would only adopt it, would soon crush the rebellion. 

"Now," said the spokesman, "we have been here to see you time and 
again; you have referred us to the Secretary of War, the Chief of Ordnance, 
and the General of the Army, and they give us no satisfaction. We have 
been kept here waiting, till money and patience are exhausted, and we 
'now come to demand of you a final reply to our application." 

Mr. Lincoln listened to this insolent tirade, and at its close the old twinkle 
came into his eye. 

"You three gentlemen remind me of a story I once heard." said he, "of a 
poor little boy out West who had lost his mother. His father wanted to 
give him a religious education, and so placed him in the family of a clergy- 
man, whom he directed to instruct the little fellow carefully in the Scriptures. 
Every day the boy had to commit to memorj' and recite one chapter of 
the Bible. Things proceeded smoothly until they reached that chapter which 
details the story of the trial of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the 
fiery furnace. When asked to repeat these three names the boy said he had 
forgotten them. 

"His teacher told him that he must learn them, and gave him another 
day to do so. The next day the boy again forgot them. 

" "Now," said the teacher, 'you have again failed to remember those 
names and you can go no farther until you have learned them. I will give 
you another day on this lesson, and if you don't repeat the names I will pun- 
ish you.' 

"A third time the boy came to recite, and got down to the stumbling 



YARNS AND STORIES. 399 

block, when the clergyman said : 'Now tell me the names of the men in the 
fiery furnace.' 

" 'Oh,' said the boy, 'here come those three infernal bores! I wish the 
devil had them !' " 

Having received their "final answer," the three patriots retired, and at 
the Cabinet meeting which fullowed, the President, in high good humor, 
related how he had dismissed his unwelcome visitors. 



LINCOLN'S MEN "WERE "HUSTLERS." 

In the Chicago Convention of i860 the fight for Seward was maintained 
with desperate resolve until the final ballot was taken. Thurlow Weed was 
the Seward leader, and he was simply incomparable as a master in handling 
a convention. With him were Governor Morgan, Henry J. Raymond, of 
the New York Times, with William M. Evarts as chairman of the New York 
delegation, whose speech nominating Seward was the most impressive 
utterance of his life. The Bates men (Bates was afterwards Lincoln's Attor- 
ney-General) were led by Frank Blair, the only Republican Congressman 
from a slave State, who was nothing if not heroic, aided by his brother 
Montgomery (afterwards Lincoln's Postmaster General), who was a poli- 
tician of uncommon cunning. With them was Horace Greeley, who was 
chairman of the delegation from the then almost inaccessible State of 
Oregon. 

It was Lincoln's friends, however, who were the "hustlers" of that battle. 
They had men for sober counsel like David Davis; men of supreme sagacity 
like Leonard Swett; men of tireless efYort like Norman B. Judd; and they 
had what was more important than all — a seething multitude wild with 
enthusiasm for "Old Abe." 



A SLOW HORSE. 



On one occasion when Mr. Lincoln was going to attend a political con- 
vention one of his rivals, a liveryman, provided him with a slow horse, hoping 
that he would not reach his destination in time. Mr. Lincoln got there, how- 
ever, and when he returned with the horse he said : "You keep this horse for 



400 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

funerals, don't you?" "Oh, no," replied the liveryman. "Well, I'm glad 
of that, for if you did you'd never get a corpse to the grave in time for the 
resurrection." 



DODGIWO "BEOWSING PRESIDENTS." 

General McClellan, after being put in command of the Army, resented 
any "interference" by the President. Lincoln, in his anxiety to know the 
details of the work in the army, went frequently to McClellan's headquarters. 
That the President had a serious purpose in these visits McClellan did 
not see. 

"I enclose a card just received from 'A. Lincoln,' " he wrote to his wife 
one day; "it shows too much deference to be seen outside." 

In another letter to Mrs. McClellan he spoke of being "interrupted" by 
the President and Secretary Seward, "who had nothing in particular to say," 
and again of concealing himself "to dodge all enemies in shape of 'browsing' 
Presidents," etc. 

"I am becoming daily more disgusted with this Administration — per- 
fectly sick of it," he wrote early in October; and a few day later, "I was 
obliged to attend a meeting of the Cabinet at 8 P. M., and was bored and 
annoyed. There are some of the greatest geese in the Cabinet I have ever 
seen — enough to tax the patience of Job." 



A GREENBACK LEGEND. 

At a Cabinet meeting once the advisability of putting a legend on green- 
backs similar to the In God We Trust legend on the silver coins was dis- 
cussed, and the President was asked what his view was. He replied : "If you 
are going to put a legend on the greenback, I would suggest that of Peter 
and Paul : 'Silver and gold we have not, but what we have we'll give you.' '" 



GOD'S BEST GIFT TO MAN. 

One of Mr. Lincoln's notable religious utterances was his reply to a depu- 
tation of colored people at Baltimore who presented him a Bible. He said : 
"In regard to the great book. I have only to say it is the best gift which God 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



401 



has ever given man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communi- 
cated to us through this book. But for this book we could not know right 
from wrong. All those things desirable to man are contained in it." 



SCALPING IN THE BLACK HAWK WAK. 

When Lincoln was President he told this story of the Black Hawk War: 

The only time he ever saw 
blood in this campaign, was 
one morning when, marching 
up a little valley that makes 
into the Rock River bottom, 
to reinforce a squad of out- 
posts that were thought to be 
in danger, they came upon 
the tent occupied by the other 
party just at sunrise. The 
men had neglected to place 
any guard at night, and had 
been slaughtered in their 
sleep. 

As the reinforcing party 

came up the slope on which 

the camp had been made, 

Lincoln saw them all lying 

with their heads towards the 

rising sun, and the round red spot that marked where they had been scalped 

gleamed more redly yet in the ruddy hght of the sun. This scene years 

afterwards he recalled with a shudder. 




MATRIMONIAL ADVICE. 

For a while during the Civil War, General Fremont was without a com- 
mand. One day in discussing Fremont's case with George W. Julian, Presi- 
dent Lincoln said he did not know where to place him, and that it reminded 



40i -'ABE" LINCOLN'S 

him of the old man who advised his son to take a wife, to which the youn^- 
man responded: "All right; whose wife shall I take?" 



OWED LOTS OF MONEY. 

On April 14, 1865, a few hours previous to his assassination, President 
Lincoln sent a message by Congressman Schuyler Colfax, Vice-President 
during General Grant's first term, to the miners in the Rocky Mountains 
and the regions bounded by the Pacific ocean, in which he said: 

"Now that the Rebellion is overthrown, and we know pretty nearly the 
amount of our National debt, the more gold and silver v.'e mine we make 
the payment of that debt so much easier. 

"Now I am going to encourage that in every possible way. We shall 
have hundreds of thousands of disbanded soldiers, and many have feared that 
their return home in such great numbers might paralyze industry by fur- 
nishing, suddenly, a greater supply of labor than there will be demand for. 
1 am going to try to attract them to the hidden wealth of our mountain 
ranges, where there is room enough for all. Immigration, which even the 
War has not stopped, will land upon our shores hundreds of thousands more 
per year from overcrowded Europe. I intend to point them to the gold and 
silver that wait for them in the West. 

"Tell the miners for me that I shall promote their interests to the utmost 
of my ability; because their prosperity is the prosperity of the nation; and," 
said he, his eye kindling with enthusiasm, "we shall prove, in a very few 
years, that we are indeed the treasury of the world." 



"ON THE LORD'S SIDE." 

President Lincoln made a significant remark to a clergyman in the early 
days of the War. 

"Let us have faith, Mr. President," said the minister, "that the Lord is 
on our side in this great struggle." 

Mr. Lincoln quietly answered : "I am not at all concerned about that, for 
I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right; but it is my constant 
jinxiety and prayer that I and this nation may be on the Lord's side." 



VaRXS and stories. 463 

WANTED TO BE NEAR "ABE." 

It was Lincoln's custom to hold an informal reception once a week, eacli 
caller taking his turn. 

Upon one of these eventful days an old friend from Illinois stood in 
line for almost an hour. At last he was so near the President his voice 
could reach him, and, calling out to his old associate, he startled every one 
by exclaiming. "Hallo, 'Abe'; how are ye? I'm in line and hev come for an 
orfice, too." 

Lincoln singled out the man with the stentorian voice, and recognizing 
a particularly old friend, one whose wife had befriended him at a peculiarly 
trying time, the President responded to his greeting in a cordial manner, 
and told him "to hang onto himself and not kick the traces. Keep in line 
and you'll soon get here." 

They met and shook hands with the old fervor and renewed their friend- 
ship. 

The informal reception over, Lincoln sent for his old friend, and the 
latter began to urge his claims. 

After having given him some good advice, Lincoln kindly told him he 
was incapable of holding any such position as he asked for. The disappoint- 
ment of the Illinois friend was plainly shown, and with a perceptible tremor 
in his voice he said, "Martha's dead, the gal is married, and I've guv Jim 
the forty." 

Then looking at Lincoln he came a little nearer and almost whispered, 
"I knowed I wasn't eddicated enough to git the place, but I kinder want to 
stay where I ken see 'Abe' Lincoln." 

He was given employment in the White House grounds. 

Afterwards the President said, "These brief interviews, stripped of even 
the semblance of ceremony, give me a better insight into the real character 
of the person and his true reason for seeking one." 



GOT HIS FOOT IN IT. 

William H. Seward, idol of the RepubUcans of the East, six months after 
Lincoln had made his "Divided House" speech, delivered an address at 
Rochester, New York, containing this famous sentence: 

"It is an irrepressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces, 



404 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

and it means that the United States must, and will, sooner or later, become 
either entirely a slave-holding nation, or entirely a free-labor nation." 

Seward, who had simply followed in Lincoln's steps, was defeated for the 
Presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention of i860, 
because he was "too radical," and Lincoln, who was still "radicaler," was 
named. 



SAVED BY A LETTER. 

The chief interest of the Illinois campaign of 1843 '^Y '" the race for 
Congress in the Capital district, which was between Hardin — fiery, eloquent, 
and impetuous Democrat — and Lincoln — plain, practical, and ennobled 
Whig. The world knows the result. Lincoln was elected. 

It is not so much his election as the manner in which he secured his 
nomination with which we have to deal. Before that ever-memorable spring 
Lincoln vacillated between the courts of Springfield, rated as a plain, honest, 
logical Whig, with no ambition higher politically than to occupy some good 
home office. 

Late in the fall of 1842 his name began to be mentioned in connection 
with Congressional aspirations, which fact greatly annoyed the leaders of 
his political party, who had already selected as the Whig candidate E. D. 
Baker, afterward the gallant Colonel who fell so bravely and died such an 
honorable death on the battlefield of Ball's Bluff. 

Despite all efforts of his opponents within his party, the name of the 
"gaunt rail-splitter" was hailed with acclaim by the masses, to whom he had 
endeared himself by his witticisms, honest tongue, and quaint philosophy 
when on the stump, or mingling with them in their homes. 

The convention, which met in early spring, in the city of Springfield, 
was to be composed of the usual number of delegates. The contest for the 
nomination was spirited and exciting. 

A few weeks before the meeting of the convention the fact was found 
by the leaders that the advantage lay with Lincoln, and that unless they 
pulled some very fine wires nothing could save Baker. 

They attempted to play the game that has so often won, by "convincing" 
delegates under instructions for Lincoln to violate them, and vote for Baker. 
They had apparently succeeded. 




WILLIAM l.LOYD GaRRLm '.., ■ n ...i ihe most prominent Abolitionists of the 
country, was a firm friend and supporter ot President Lincoln, who did not agree, however, 
with all his radical opinions. Garrison did not think the President was justified in delaying 
the liberation of the slaves, but later he was convinced of the wisdom and sagacity of 
Lincoln in dealing with this matter. Garrison was the founder and leading spirit of the 
Anti-Slavery Society, and vi.sited Purope several times in behalf of the cause of freedom. 
Born in Massachusetts m 1805. he died in 187Q. (405) 






'?^i^?5^=:r:::rt"'. 



^ -^■]:^ I' ^^3*^^ % ^)u 



;:J.--:^^^^J^.yK^ 



-f*.", 



j,^A^ 



t .; 



WW'-* 









;l* > f < 4 > f 'iX'^^'&l:^3E 

SCHUYLER COLFAX, representing an Indiana Congressional District dnring Presi- 
dent Lincoln's time, was one of the conlidcntial advisers of the Chief Executive while the 
War was in progress, and has told innumerable stories of the Martyr President. The 
latter trusted him implicitly, and the trust was never betrayed. Mr. Colfax was chosen 
Vice-President in 1868 on the ticket with General Grant, and retired to private life in 
•1873. He was born in New York in 1823, and died in 1885 while on a lecture tour. He 
ferved several terms in CongresF, and was regarded as one of the ablest statesmen in the 
country. <^^4o6) 



YARNS AND STORIES. 407 

"The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley." So it was in this 
case. Two days before the convention Lincoln recei\-ed an intimation of 
this, and, late at night, wrote the following letter. 

The letter was addressed to Martin Morris, who resided at Petersburg, an 
intimate friend of his, and by him circulated among those who were 
instructed for him at the county convention. 

It had the desired effect. The convention met, the scheme of the con- 
spirators miscarried, Lincoln was nominated, made a vigorous canvass, and 
was triumphantly elected, thus paving the way for his more extended and 
brilliant conquests. 

This letter, Lincoln had often told his friends, gave him ultimately the 
Chief Magistracy of the nation. He has also said, that, had he been beaten 
before the convention, he would have been forever obscured. The follow- 
ing is a verbatim copy of the epistle : 

"April 14, 1843. 

"Friend Morris: I have heard it intimated that Baker is trying to get 
you or Miles, or both of you, to violate the instructions of the meeting that 
appointed you, and to go for him. I have insisted, and still insist, that tliis 
cannot be true. 

"Sure Baker would not do the like. As v.-ell might Hardin ask me to 
vote for him in the convention. 

"Again, it is said there will be an attempt to get in.structions in your 
county requiring you to go for Baker. This is all wrong. Upon the same 
rule, why might I not fly from the decision against me at Sangamon and 
get up instructions to their delegates to go for me. There are at least i,20G 
Wliigs in the county that took no part, and yet I would as soon stick my 
head in the fire as attempt it. 

"Besides, if any one should get the nomination by such extraordinary 
means, all harmony in the district would inevitably be lost. Honest Whigs 
(and very nearly all of them are honest) would not quietly abide such 
enormities. 

"I repeat, such an attempt on Baker's part cannot be true. Write me 
at Springfield how the matter is. Don't show or speak of this letter. 

"A.- LINCOLN." 

Mr. Morris did show the letter, and Mr. Lincoln always thanked his stars 
that he did. 



4o8 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 



HIS FAVORITE POEM. 

Mr. Lincoln's favorite poem was "Oh ! Why Should the Spirit of Mortal 
Be Proud?" written by William Knox, a Scotchman, although Mr. Lincoln 
never knew the author's name. He once said to a friend : 

"This poem has been a great favorite with me for years. It was first 
shown to me, when a young man, by a friend. I afterward saw it and cut it 
from a newspaper and learned it by heart. I would give a great deal to know 
who wrote it, but I have never been able to ascertain." 

"Oh! why should the spirit of mortal be proud? — 
Like a swift-fieeing meteor, a fast-flying cloud, 
A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave, 
He passeth from life to his rest in the grave. 

"The leaves of the oak and the willow shall fade, 
Be scattered around, and together be laid; 
And the young and the old, and the low and the high, 
Shall moulder to dust, and together shall lie. 

"The infant a mother attended and loved; 
The mother, that infant's affection who proved, 
The husband, that mother and infant who blessed — 
Each, all, are away to their dwellings of rest. 

"The maid on whose cheek, on whose brow, in whose eye, 
Shone beauty and pleasure — her triumphs are by; 
And the memory of those who loved her and praised, 
Are alike from the minds of the living erased. 

"The hand of the king, that the sceptre hath borne. 
The brow of the priest, that the mitre hath worn. 
The eye of the sage, and the heart of the brave. 
Are hidden and lost in the depths of the grave. 

"The peasant, whose lot was to sow and to reap, 
The herdsman, who cHmbed with his goats up the steep; 
The beggar, who wandered in search of his bread, 
Have faded away like the grass that we tread. 

"The saint, who enjoyed the communion of heaven, 
The sinner, who dared to remain unforgiven; 
The wise and the foolish, the guilty and just, 
Have quietly mingled their bones in the dust. 



YARNS AND STORIES. 409 

"So the multitude goes — like the flower or the weed 
That withers away to let others succeed; 
So the multitude comes — even those we behold, 
To repeat every tale that has often been told: 

"For we are the same our fathers have been; 
We see the same sights our fathers have seen; 
We drink the same stream, we view the same sun. 
And run the same course our fathers have run. 

"The thoughts we are thinking, our fathers would think; 
From the death we are shrinking, our fathers would shrink; 
To the life we are clinging, they also would cling — 
But it speeds from us all like a bird on the wing. 

"They loved — but the story we cannot unfold ; 
They scorned — but the heart of the haughty is cold; 
They grieved — but no wail from their slumber will come; 
They joyed — but the tongue of their gladness is dumb. 

"They died — aye, they died — and we things that are now, 
That walk on the turf that lies o'er their brow. 
And make in their dwellings a transient abode. 
Meet the things that they met on their pilgrimage road. 

"Yea! hope and despondency, pleasure and pain, 
Are mingled together in sunshine and rain; 
And the smile and the tear, the song and the dirge, 
Still follow each other, like surge upon surge. 

" 'Tis the wink of an eye, — 'tis the draught of a breath; — 
From the blossom of health to the paleness of death. 
From the gilded saloon tO' the bier and the shroud : — 
Oh! why should the spirit of mortal be proud?" 



FIVE-LEGGED CALF. 



President Lincoln had great doubt as to his right to emancipate the 
slaves under the War power. In discussing the question, he used to liken 
the case to that of the boy who, when asked how many legs his calf would 
have if he called its tail a leg, replied, "five," to which the prompt response 
was made that calling the tail a leg would not make it a leg. 



410 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

A STAGE-COACH STORY. 

The following is told by Thomas H. Nelson, of Terre Haute, Indiana, 
'who was appointed minister to Chili by Lincoln : 

Judge Abram Hammond, afterwards Governor of Indiana, and myself 
arranged to go from" Terre Haute to Indianapolis in a stage-coach. 

As we stepped in we discovered that the entire back seat was occupied 
by a long, lank individual, whose head seemd to protrude from one end of 
the coach and his feet from the other. He was the sole occupant, and was 
sleeping soundly. Hammond slapped him famiharly on the shoulder, and 
asked him if he had chartered the coach that day. 

"Certainly not," and he at once took the front seat, politely giving us 
the place of honor and comfort. An odd-looking fellow he was, with a 
twenty-five cent hat, without vest or cravat. Regarding him as a good 
subject for merriment, we perpetrated several jokes. 

He took them all with utmost innocence and good nature, and joined in 
the laugh, although at his own expense. 

After an astounding display of wordy pyrotechnics, the dazed and 
bewildered stranger asked, "What will be the upshot of this comet business?" 

Late in the evening we reached Indianapolis, and hurried to Browning's 
hotel, losing sight of the stranger altogether. 

We retired to our room to brush our clothes. In a few minutes I 
descended to the portico, and there descried our long, gloomy fellow traveler 
in the center of an admiring group of lawyers, among whom were Judges 
McLean and Huntington, Albert S. White, and Richard W. Thompson, who 
seemed to be amused and interested in a story he was telling. I inquired 
of Browning, the landlord, who he was. "Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, a 
member of Congress," was his response. 

I was thunderstruck at the announcement. I hastened upstairs and told 
Hammond the startling news, and together we emerged from the hotel by a 
back door, and went down an alley to another house, thus avoiding further 
contact with our distinguished fellow traveler. 

Years afterward, when the President-elect was on his way to Washing- 
ton, I was in the same hotel looking over the distinguished party, when a 
long arm reached to my shoulder, and a shrill voice exclaimed, "Hello, 
Nelson ! do you think, after all, the whole world is going to follow the 
darned thing ofif?" The words were my own in answer to his question in 
the stage-coach. The speaker was Abraham Lincoln. 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



411 



THE "400" GATHERED THERE. 

Lincoln had periods while "clerking" in the New Salem grocery store 
during which there was nothing for him to do, and was therefore in cir- 
cumstances that made laziness almost inevitable. 
Had people come to him for goods, they would 
have found him willing to sell them. He sold 
all that he could, doubtless. 

The store soon became the social center of 
the village. If the people 



did not care (or were unable) 
to buy goods, they liked to go 
where they could talk with 
their neighbors and listen 
to stories. These Lincoln 
gave them in abundance, 
and of a rare sort. 

It was in these gatherings 
of the'TourHundred" at the 
village store that Lincoln got 
his training as a debater. Pub- 
lic questions were discussed 
there daily and nightly, and 
Lincoln always took a prom- 
inent part in the discussions. 
Many of the debaters came 
to consider "Abe Linkin" as about the smartest man in the village. 




ONLY LEVEL-HEADED MEN WANTED, 



Lincoln wanted men of level heads for important commands. Not infre- 
quently he gave his generals advice. 

He appreciated Hooker's bravery, dash and activity, but was fearful of 
the results of what he denominated "swashing around." 

This was one of his telegrams to Hooker: 

"And now, beware of rashness; beware of rashness, but, with energy and 
sleepless vigilance, go forward and give us victories." 



412 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

HIS FAITH IN THE MONITOR. 

When the Confederate iron-clad Merrimac was sent against the Union 
vessels in Hampton Roads President Lincoln expressed his belief in the 
Monitor to Captain Fox, the adviser of Captain Ericsson, who constructed 
the Monitor. "We have three of the most effective vessels in Hampton 
Roads, and any number of small craft that will hang on the stern of the 
Merrimac like small dogs on the haunches of a bear. They may not be able 
to tear her down, but they will interfere with the comfort of her voyage. 
Her trial trip will not be a pleasure trip, I am certain. 

"We have had a big share of bad luck already, but I do not believe the 
future has any such misfortunes in store for us as you anticipate." Seid 
Captain Fox: "If the Merrimac does not sink our ships, who is to prevent 
her from dropping her anchor in the Potomac, where that steamer Hes," 
pointing to a steamer at anchor below the long bridge, "and throwing her 
hundred-pound shells into this room, or battering down the walls of the 
Capitol?" 

"The Almighty, Captain," answered the President, excitedly, but with- 
out the least affectation. "I expect set-backs, defeats; we have had them 
and shall have them. They are common to all wars. But I have not the 
slightest fear of any result which shall fatally impair our military and naval 
strength, or give other powers any right to interfere in our quarrel. The 
destruction of the Capitol would do both. 

"I do not fear it, for this is God's fight, and He will win it in His own 
good time. He will take care that our enemies will not push us too far, 

"Speaking of iron-clads," said the President, "you do not seem to take 
the little Monitor into account. I believe in the Monitor and her com- 
mander. If Captain Worden does not give a good account of the Monitor 
and of himself, I shall have made a mistake in following my judgment for 
the first time since I have been here, Captain. 

"I have not made a mistake in following my clear judgment of men since 
this War began. I followed that judgment when I gave Worden the com- 
mand of the Monitor. I would make the appointment over again to-day. 
The Monitor should be in Hampton Roads now. She left New York eight 
days ago." 

After the captain had again presented what he considered the possibilities 
of failure the President replied, "No, no, Captain, I respect your judgment, 
as you have reason to know, but this time you are all wrong. 



YARNS AND STORIES. 413 

"The Monitor was one of my inspirations; I believed in her firmly when 
that energetic contractor first showed me Ericsson's plans. Captain Erics- 
son's plain but rather enthusiastic demonstration made my conversion per- 
manent. It was called a floating battery then; I called it a raft. I caught 
some of the inventor's enthusiasm and it has been growing upon me. 1 
thought then, and I am confident now, it is just what we want. I am sure 
that the Monitor is still afloat, and that she will yet give a good account of 
herself. Sometimes I think she may be the veritable sling with a stone that 
will yet smite the Merrimac Philistine in the forehead." 

Soon was the President's judgment verified, for the ''Fight of the Moni- 
tor and Merrimac" changed all the conditions of naval warfare. 

After the victory was gained, the presiding Captain Fox and others went 
on board the Monitor, and Captain Worden was requested by the President 
to narrate the history of the encounter. 

Captain Worden did so in a modest manner, and apologized for not being 
able better to provide for his guests. The President smilingly responded : 
"Some charitable people say that old Bourbon is an indispensable element 
in the fighting qualities of some of our generals in the field, but. Captain, 
after the account that we have heard to-day, no one will say that any Dutch 
courage is needed on board the Monitor." 

"It never has been, sir," modestly observed the captain. 

Captain Fox then gave a description of what he saw of the engagement 
and described it as indescribably grand. Then, turning to the President, 
he continued, "Now standing here on the deck of this battle-scarred vessel, 
the first genuine iron-clad — the victor in the first fight of iron-clads — let me 
make a confession, and perform an act of simple justice. 

"I never fully believed in armored vessels until I saw this battle. 

"I know all the facts which united to give us the Monitor. I withhold 
no credit from Captain Ericsson, her inventor, but I know that the country 
is principally indebted for the construction of the vessel to President Lincoln, 
and for the success of her trial to Captain Worden, her commander." 



HER ONLY IMPERFECTION. 

At one time a certain Major Hill charged Lincoln with making defama- 
tory remarks regarding Mrs. Hill. 

Hill was insulting in his language to Lincoln who never lost his tem- 
per. 



414 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

When he saw his chance to edge a word in, Lincoln denied emphatically 
using the language or anything like that attributed to him. 

He entertained, he insisted, a high regard for Mrs. Hill, and the only 
thing he knew to her discredit was the fact that she was Major Hill'" wife. 



THE OLD LADY'S PROPHECY. 

Among those who called to congratulate Mr. Lincoln upon his nomina- 
tion for President was an old lady, very plainly dressed. She knew Mr. 
Lincoln, but Mr. Lincoln did not at first recognize her. Then she under- 
took to recall to his memory certain incidents connected with his ride upon 
the circuit — especially his dining at her house upon the road at different 
times. Then he remembered her and her home. 

Having fixed her own place in his recollection, she tried to recall to him 
a certain scanty dinner of bread and milk that he once ate at her house. 
He could not remember it — on the contrary, he only remembered that he 
had always fared well at her house. 

"Well," she said, "one day you came along after we had got through 
dinner, and we had eaten up everything, and I could give you nothing but 
a bowl of bread and milk, and you ate it; and when you got up you said it 
was good enough for the President of the United States !" 

The good woman had come in from the country, making a journey of 
eight or ten miles, to relate to Mr. Lincoln this incident, which, in her 
mind, had doubtless taken the form of a prophecy. Mr. Lincoln placed 
the honest creature at her ease, chatted with her of old times, and dismissed 
her in the most happy frame of mind. 



HOW THE TOWN OF LINCOLN, ILL., WAS NAMED. 

The story of naming the town of Lincoln, the county seat of Logan 
county, Illinois, is thus given on good authority : 

The first railroad had been built through the county, and a station was 
about to be located there. Lincoln, Virgil Hitchcock, Colonel R. B. Latham 
and several others were sitting on a pile of ties and talking about meving; 



YAKNS AND STORIES. 



415 



the county seat from Mount Pulaski. Mr. Lincoln rose and started to walk 
away, when Colonel Latham said: '"Lincoln, if you will help us to get the 
county seat here, we will call the place Lincoln." 

"All right, Latham," he replied. 

Colonel Latham then deeded him a lot on the west side of the court- 
house, a'^d he owned it at the time he was elected President. 



"OLD JEFF'S" BIG NIGHTMARE. 



"Jeff" Davis had a large and threatening nightmare in November. 1864, 
and what he saw in his troubled dreams was the long and lanky figure of 
Abraham Lincoln, who had just been endorsed by the people of the United 
States for another term in the White House at Washington. The cartoon 

reproduced here is from the 
v /T\ <v/y^i- . . M .i,|i 11 issue of "Frank Leslie's II- 

V>^^^^^C5!l^?:>J(liJll^ lustrated Newspaper" of 

' '''' ' '" """^ December 3rd, 1864, it 

being entitled "Jeff Davis' 
November Nightmare." 

Davis had been told that 
McClellan, "the War is a 
failure" candidate for the 
Presidency, would have no 
difficulty whatever in defeat- 
ing Lincoln: that negotia- 
tions with the Confederate 
officials for the cessation of 
hostilities would be entered 
into as soon as McClellan 
was seated in the Chief Ex- 
ecutive's chair; that the 
Confederacy would, in all 
probability, be recognized 
as an independent government by the Washington Administration; that the 
"sacred institution" of slavery would continue to do business at the old 
stand; that the Confederacy would be one of the great nations of the world. 




4i6 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

and have all the "State Rights" and other things it wanted, with absolutely 
no interference whatever upon the part of the North. 

Therefore, Lincoln's re-election was a rough, rude shock to Davis, who 
had not prepared himself for such an event. Six months from the date of 
that nightmare-dream he was a prisoner in the hands of the Union forces, 
and the Confederacy was a thing of the past. 



LINCOLN'S LAST OFFICIAL ACT. 

Probably the last official act of President Lincoln's life was the signing 
of the commission reappointing Alvin Saunders Governor of Nebraska. 

"1 saw Mr. Lincoln regarding the matter," said Governor Saunders, 
"and he told me to go home; that he would attend to it all right. I left 
Washington on the morning of the 14th, and while en route the news of the 
assassination on the evening of the same day reached me. I immediately 
wired back to find out what had become of my commission, and was told that 
the room had not been opened. When it was opened, the document was 
found lying on the desk. 

"Mr. Lincoln signed it just before leaving for the theater that fatal 
evening, and left it lying there, unfolded. 

"A note was found below the document as follows : 'Rather a lengthy 
commission, bestowing upon Mr. Alvin Saunders the official authority of 
Governor of the Territory of Nebraska.' Then came Lincoln's signature, 
which, with one exception, that of a penciled message on the back of a card 
sent up by a friend as Mr. Lincoln was dressing for the theater, was the very 
last signature of the martyred President." 



THE LAD NEEDED THE SLEEP. 

A personal friend of President Lincoln is authority for this: 
"I called on him one day in the early part of the War. He had just 

written a pardon for a young man who had been sentenced to be shot for 

sleeping at his post. He remarked as he read it to me : 

" T could not think of going into eternity with the blood of the poor 

young man on my skirts.' Then he added: 



YARNS AND STORIES. 417 

" 'It is not to be wondered at that a boy, raised on a farm, probably in 
the habit of going to bed at dark, should, when required to watch, fall 
asleep; and I cannot consent to shoot him for such an act.' " 



"MASSA LINKUM LIKE DE LORD!" 

By the Act of Emancipation President Lincoln built for himself forever 
the first place in the affections of the African race in this country. The love 
and reverence manifested for him by many of these people has, on some 
occasions, almost reached adoration. One day Colonel McKaye, of New 
York, who had been one of a committee to investigate the condition of the 
freedmen, upon his return from Hilton Head and Beaufort called upon the 
President, and in the course of the interview said that up to the time of the 
arrival among them in the South of the Union forces they had no knowledge 
of any other power. Their masters fled upon the approach of our soldiers, 
and this gave the slaves the conception of a power greater than their masters 
exercised. This power they called "Massa Linkum." 

Colonel McKaye said their place of worship was a large building they 
called "the praise house," and the leader of the "meeting," a venerable black 
man, was known as "the praise man." 

On a certain day, when there was quite a large gathering of the people, 
considerable confusion was created by different persons attempting to tell 
who and what "Massa Linkum" was. In the midst of the excitement the 
white-headed leader commanded silence. "Brederen," said he, "you don't 
know nosen' what you'se talkin' 'bout. Now, you just listen to me. Massa 
Linkum, he ebery whar. He know ebery ting." 

Then, solemnly looking up, he added : "He walk de earf Hke de Lord !" 



HOW LINCOLN TOOK THE NEWS. 

One of Lincoln's most dearly loved friends. United States Senator 
Edward D. Baker, of Oregon, Colonel of the Seventy-first Pennsylvania, a 
former townsman of Mr. Lincoln, was killed at the battle of Ball's Bluff, in 
October, 1861. The President went to General McClellan's headquarters 
to hear the news, and a friend thus described the effect it had upon him : 

"We could hear the click of the telegraph in the adjoining room and low 



41 8 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

conversation between the President and General McClellan, succeeded by 
silence, excepting the dick, click of the instrument, which went on with its 
tale of disaster. 

"Five minutes passed, and then Mr. Lincoln, unattended, with bowed 
head and tears rolling down his furrowed cheeks, his face pale and wan, his 
breast heaving with emotion, passed through the room. He almost fell as 
he stepped into the street. We sprang involuntarily from our seats to render 
assistance, but he did not fall. 

"With both hands pressed upon his heart, he walked down the street, not 
returning the salute of the sentinel pacing his beat before the door." 



PEOFANITY AS A SAFETY-VALVE. 

Lincoln never indulged in profanity, but confessed that when Lee was 
beaten at Malvern Hill, after seven days of fighting, and Richmond, but 
twelve miles away, was at McClellan's mercy, he felt very much like swear- 
ing when he learned that the Union general had retired to Harrison's 
Landing. 

Lee was so confident his opponent would not go to Richmond that he 
took his army into Maryland — a move he would not have made had an 
energetic fighting man been in McClellan's place. 

It is true McClellan followed and defeated Lee in the bloodiest battle of 
the War — Antietam — afterwards following him into Virginia; but Lincoln 
could not bring himself to forgive the general's inaction before Richmond. 



WHY WE WON AT GETTYSBURG. 

President Lincoln said to General Sickles, just after the victory of Gettys- 
burg : "The fact is. General, in the stress and pinch of the campaign there, 
I went to my room, and got down on my knees and prayed God Almighty 
for victory at Gettysburg. I told Him that this was His country, and the 
w^r was His war, but that we really couldn't stand another Fredericksburg 
or Chancellorsville. And then and there I made a solemn vow with my 
Maker that if He would stand by you boys at Gettysburg I would stand by 
Him. And He did, and I will ! And after this I felt that God Almighty had 
taken the whole thing into His hands." 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



419 



HAD TO WAIT FOR HIM. 

President Lincoln, having arranged to go to New York, was late for his 
train, much to the disgust of those who were to accompany him, and all 
were compelled to wait several hours until the next train steamed out of 

the station. President Lin- 
coln was much amused at 
the dissatisfaction displayed, 
and then ventured the re- 
mark that the situation re- 
minded him of "a little 
story." Said he : 

"Out in Illinois, a con- 
vict who had murdered his 
cellmate was sentenced to 
be hanged. On the day set 
for the execution, crowds 
lined the roads leading to 
the spot where the scafifold 
had been erected, and there 
was much jostling and ex- 
citement. The condemned 
man took matters coolly, 
and as one batch of perspiring, anxious men rushed past the cart in which 
he was riding, he called out, 'Don't be in a hurry, boys. You've got plenty of 
time. There won't be any fun until I get there.' 

"That's the condition of things now," concluded the President; "there 
won't be any fun at New York until I get there." 




PRESIDENT AND CABINET JOINED IN PRAYER. 



On the day the news of General Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court- 
House was received, so an intimate friend of President Lincoln relates, the 
Cabinet meeting was held an hour earlier than usual. Neither the President 
nor any member of the Cabinet was able, for a time, to give utterance to his 
feelings. 



420 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

At the suggestion of Mr. Lincoln all dropped on their knees, and offered, 
in silence and in tears, their humble and heartfelt acknowledgments to the 
Almighty for the triumph He had granted to the National cause. 



BELIEVED HE WAS A CHRISTIAN. 

Mr. Lincoln was much impressed with the devotion and earnestness of 
purpose manifested by a certain lady of the "Christian Commission" during 
the War, and on one occasion, after she had discharged the object of her 
visit, said to her : 

"Madam, I have formed a high opinion of your Christian character, and 
now, as we are alone, I have a mind to ask you to give me in brief your idea 
of what constitutes a true religious experience." 

The lady replied at some length, stating that, in her judgment, it con- 
sisted of a conviction of one's own sinfulness and weakness, and a personal 
need of the Saviour for strength and support; that views of mere doctrine 
might and would differ, but when one was really brought to feel his need 
of divine help, and to seek the aid of the Holy Spirit for strength and guid- 
ance, it was satisfactory evidence of his having been born again. This was 
the substance of her reply. 

When she had concluded Mr. Lincoln was very thoughtful for a few 
moments. He at length said, very earnestly: "If what you have told me is 
really a correct view of this great subject I think I can say with sincerity 
that I hope I am a Christian. I had lived," he continued, "until my boy 
Willie died without fully realizing these things. That blow overwhelmed 
me. It showed me my weakness as I had never felt it before, and if I can 
take what you have stated as a test I think I can safely say that I know some- 
thing of that change of which you speak; and I will further add that it has 
been my intention for some time, at a suitable opportunity, to make a public 
religious profession." 



WITH THE HELP OF GOD. 

Mr. Lincoln once remarked to Mr. Noah Brooks, one of his most 
intimate personal friends: "I should be the most presumptuous blockhead 
upon this footstool if I for one day thought that I could discharge the duties 



YARNS AND STORIES. 421 

which have come upon me, since I came to this place, without the aid and 
enlightenment of One who is stronger and wiser than all others." 

He said on another occasion : "I am very sure that if I do not go away 
from here a wiser man; I shall go away a better man, from having learned 
here what a very poor sort of a man I am." 



TURNED TEARS TO SMILES. 

One night Schuyler Colfax left all other business to go to the White 
House to ask the President to respite the son of a constituent, who was sen- 
tenced to be shot, at Davenport, for desertion. Mr. Lincoln heard the story 
Vi'ith his usual patience, though he was wearied out with incessant calls, and 
anxious for rest, and then replied : 

"Some of our generals complain that I impair discipline and subordina- 
tion in the army by my pardons and respites, but it makes me rested, after 
a hard day's work, if I can find some good excuse for saving a man's life, 
and I go to bed happy as I think how joyous the signing of my name will 
make him and his family and his friends." 

And with a happy smile beaming over that care-furrowed face, he signed 
that name that saved that life. 



LINCOLN'S LAST WRITTEN WORDS. 

As the President and Mrs. Lincoln were leaving the White House, a few 
minutes before eight o'clock, on the evening of April 14th, 1865, Lincoln 
wrote this note : 

"Allow Mr. Ashmun and friend to come to see me at 9 o'clock a. m., 
to-morrow. April 15th, 1865." 



WOMEN PLEAD FOR PARDONS. 

One day during the War an attractively and handsomely dressed woman 
called on President Lincoln to procure the release from prison of a relation 
in whom she professed the deepest interest. 

She was a good talker, and her winning ways seemed to make a deep 



422 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

impression on the President. After listening to her story, he wrote a few 
words on a card: "This woman, dear Stanton, is a little smarter than she 
looks to be," enclosed it in an envelope and directed her to take it to the 
Secretary of War. 

On the same day another woman called, more humble in appearance, 
fmore plainly clad. It was the old story. 

Father and son both in the army, the former in prison. Could not the 
latter be discharged from the army and sent home to help his mother? 

A few strokes of the pen, a gentle nod of the head, and the little woman, 
her eyes filling with tears and expressing a grateful acknowledgment her 
tongue could not utter, passed out. 

A lady so thankful for the release of her husband was in the act of kneel- 
ing in thankfulness. "Get up," he said, "don't kneel to me, but thank God 
and go," 

An old lady for the same reason came forward with tears in her eyes to 
express her gratitude. "Good-bye, Mr. Lincoln," said she; "I shall probably 
never see you again till we meet in heaven." She had the President's hand 
in hers, and he was deeply moved. He instantly took her right hand in both 
of his, and, following her to the door, said, "I am afraid vnth all my troubles 
I shall never get to the resting-place you speak of; but if I do, I am sure 1 
shall find you. That you wish me to get there is, I believe, the best wish 
you could make for me. Good-bye." 

Then the President remarked to a friend, "It is more than many can often 
say, that in doing right one has made two people happy in one day. Speed, 
die when I may, I want it said of me by those who know me best, 
that I have always plucked a thistle and planted a flower when I thought a 
flower would grow." 



LINCOLN WISHED TO SEE RICHMOND. 

The President remarked to Admiral David D. Porter, while on board 
the flagship Malvern, on the James River, in front of Richmond, llie day the 
city surrendered : 

"Thank God that I have lived to see this ! 

"It seems to me that I have been dreaming a horrid dream for four years, 
and now the nightmare is gone. 
"I wish to see Richmond." 



i*:l,<*:>l<i* 






4x 



c±.x 



-^ 




BENJAMIN F. BL . ,-..... ..uvyer, politician and suldicr, had the laculty oi making 

enemies in the highest degree. During the Civil War he rendered good service to the 
Union cause, but was unfortnnate in many military undertakings. President Lincoln was 
patient with him. listening to his numerous complaints placidly. But he was always 
arcusmg his fellow-commanders of seeking his downfall. Born in New Hampshire in 
iSiS, he died in 1893. He was famous (or declaring negroes "contraband of war." When 
military governor of New Orleans the Confederates gave him the name of "Beast." (423) 




WENDELL PHILLIPS, one o( the most rabid of tlie Abelitionists, thdiiKlu I'leMdeiit 
Lincoln was wrong in not declaring all slaves in the United States free early in the War. 
Lincoln, not wishing to ofTend the Union men of the Border States, delayed issuing the 
Emancipation Proclamation, thereby incurring the enmity of Phillips and those of the 
"extreme" sort. Phillips, however, recognized later that the President was right. Phillips 
was born in Boston in 1811. and died in 1884. He was a champion of temperance and 
suffrage for women. (424) 



YARNS AND STORIES. 425 

SPOKEN LIKE A CHRISTIAN. 

Frederick Douglass told, in these words, of his first interview with Presi- 
dent Lincoln : 

"I approached him with trepidation as to how this great man might 
receive me; but one word and look from him banished all my fears and set 
me perfectly at ease. I have often said since that meeting that it was much 
easier to see and converse with a great man than it was with a small man. 

"On that occasion he said : 

" 'Douglass, you need not tell me who you are. Mr. Seward has told me 
all about you.' 

"I then saw that there was no reason to tell him my personal story, novr- 
ever interesting it might be to myself or others, so I told him at once the 
object of my visit. It was to get some expression from him upon three 
points : 

"l. Equal pay to colored soldiers. 

"2. Their promotion when they had earned it on the battle-fldd. 

"3. Should they be taken prisoners and enslaved or hanged, as Jefferson 
Davis had threatened, an equal number of Confederate prisoners should be 
executed within our lines. 

"A declaration to that effect I thought would prevent the execution of 
the rebel threat. To all but the last President Lincoln assented. He argued, 
however, that neither equal pay nor promotion could be granted at once. 
He said that in view of existing prejudices it was a great step forward to 
employ colored troop? at all; that it was necessary to avoid everything that 
would offend this prejudice and increase opposition to the measure. 

■'He detailed the steps by which white soldiers were reconciled to the 
employment of colored troops; how these were first employed as laborers; 
how it was thought they should not be armed or uniformed like white sol- 
diers; how they should only be made to wear a peculiar uniform; how they 
should be employed to hold forts and arsenals in sickly locations, and not 
enter the field like other soldiers. 

"With all these restrictions and limitations he easily made me see that 
much would be gained when the colored man loomed before the country as 
a full-fledged United States soldier to fight, flourish or fall in defense of the 
united republic. The great soul of Lincoln halted only when he came to 
the point of retaliation. 

"The thought of hanging men in cold blood, even though the rebels 



426 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

should murder a few of the colored prisoners, was a horror from which he 
shrank. 

" 'Oh, Douglass ! I cannot do that. If I could get hold of the actual 
murderers of colored prisoners I would retaliate; but to hang those Avho 
have no hand in such murders, I cannot.' 

"The contemplation of such an act brought to his countenance such an 
expression of sadness and pity that it made it hard for me to press my point, 
though I told him it would tend to save rather than destroy life. He. how- 
ever, insisted that this work of blood, once begun, would be hard to stop — 
that such violence would beget violence. He argued more like a disciple 
of Christ than a commander-in-chief of the army and navy of a warlike nation 
already involved in a terrible war. 

"How sad and strange the fate of this great and good man, the saviour 
of his country, the embodiment of human charity, whose heart, though 
strong, was as tender as a heart of childhood; who always tempered justice 
with mercy; who sought to supplant the sword with counsel of reason, to 
suppress passion by kindness and moderation; who had a sigh for every 
human grief and a tear for every human woe, should at last perish by the 
hand of a desperate assassin, against whom no thought of malice had ever 
entered his heart !" 



"LINCOLN GOES IN WHEN THE QUAKERS AEE OUT!" 

One of the campaign songs of i860 which will nevtr be forgotten was 
Whittier's "The Quakers Are Out :— " 

"Give the flags to the winds! 

Set the hills all aflame ! 
Make way for the man with 

The Patriarch's name! 
Away with misgivings — away 

With all doubt, 
For Lincoln goes in when the 

Quakers are out !" 

Speaking of this song (with which he w"3 greatly pleased) one day at 
the White House, the President said : "It reminds me of a little story I 
heard years ago out iii Illinois. A political campaign was on, and the atmos- 
phere was kept at a high temperature. Several fights had already occurred. 



YARNS AND STORIES. 427 

marby men having been seriously hurt, and the prospects were that the result 
would be close. One of the candidates was a professional politician with 
a huge wart on his nose, this disfigurement having earned for him the nick- 
name of 'Warty.' His opponent was a young lawyer who wore 'biled' shirts, 
was shaved by a barber, and had his clothes made to fit him. 

"Now, 'Warty' was of Quaker stock, and around election time made a 
great parade of the fact. When there were no campaigns in progress he 
was anything but Quakerish in his language or actions. The young lawyer 
didn't know wliat the inside of a meeting house looked like. 

"Well, the night before election-day the two candidates came together at 
a joint debate, both being on the speakers' platform. The young lawyer 
had to speak after 'Warty,' and his reputation suffered at the hands of the 
Quaker, who told the many Friends present what a wicked fellow the young 
man was — never went to church, swore, drank, smoked and gambled. 

"After 'Warty' had finished the other arose and faced the audience. 'I'm 
not a good man," said he, 'and what my opponent lias said about me is true 
enough, but I'm always the same. 1 ilon't profess religion when I run for 
ofifice, and then turn around and associate with bad people when the cam- 
paign's over. I'm no hypocrite. I don't sing many psalms. Neither does 
my opponent; and, talking about singing, I'd just like to hear my friend who 
is running against me sing the song — for the benefit of this audience— I 
heard him sing the night after he was nominated. I yield the floor to him.' 

"Of course 'Warty' refused, his Quaker supporters grew suspicious, and 
when they turned out at the polls the following day they voted for the 
wicked young lawyer. 

"So, it's true that when "the Quakers are out' the man they support is 
apt ;o go in." 



HAB CONFIDENCE IN HIM— "BUT— " 

"General Blank asks for more men," said Secretary of W^ar Stanton to 
the President one day, showing the latter a telegram from the commander 
Hamed appealing for re-enforcements. 

"I guess he's killed ofif enough men, hasn't he?" queried the President. 
"I don't mean Confederates — our own men. What's the use in sending 
voluiateers down to him if they're only used to fill graves?" 

"His dispatch seems to imply that, in his opinion, you have not the 



428 ■■ABE" LINCOLN'S 

confidence in liim he thinks he deserves,'" the War Secretary went on to 
say, as he looked over the telegram again. 

"Oh," was the President's reply, "he needn't lose any of his sleep on that 
account. Just telegraph him to that efifect; also, that I don't propose to send 
him any more men." 



KOW HOMINY WAS OEIGINATED. 

During the progress of a Cabinet meeting the subject of food for the 
men in the Army happened to come up. From that the conversation 
changed to the study of the Latin language. 

"I studied Latin once," said Mr. Lincoln, in a casual way. 

"Were you interested in it?" asked Mr. Seward, the Secretary of State. 

"Well, yes. I saw some very curious things," was the President's 
rejoinder. 

"What?" asked Secretary Seward. 

"Well, there's the word hominy, for instance. We have just ordered a 
lot of that stuff for the troops. I see how the word originated. I notice it 
came from the Latin word homo — a man. 

"When we decline homo, it is: 

" 'Homo — a man. 

" 'Hominis — of man. 
'Homini — for man.' 

"So you see, hominy, being 'for man,' comes from the Latin. I guess 
those soldiers who don't know Latin will get along with it all right — though 
I won't rest real easy until I hear from the Commissary Def)artment on it." 



HIS IDEAS OLD, AFTEK ALL. 

One day, while listening to one of the wise men who had called at the 
White House to unload a large cargo of advice, the President interjected 
a remark to the effect that he had a great reverence for learning. 

"This is not," President Lincoln explained, "because I am not an 
educated man. I feel the need of reading. It is a loss to a man not to have 
grown up among books." 

"Men of force," the visitor answered, "can get on pretty well without 
books. They do their own thinking instead of adopting what other men 
think." 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



429 



"Yes," said Mr. Lincoln, "but books serve to show a man that those 
original thoughts of his aren't very new, after all." 

This was a point the caller was not willing to debate, and so he cut his 

call short. 



LINC0L2J'S FIKST SPEECH. 

Lincoln made his iirst speech when he was a mere boy, going barefoot, his 
trou.sers held up by one suspender, and his shock of hair sticking through a 
hole in the crown of his 
cheap straw hat. 

"Abe," in company 
with Dennis Hanks, at- 
tended a political meeting, 
which was addressed by a 
typical stump speaker — one 
of those loud-voiced fel- 
lows who shouted at the top 
of his voice and waved his 
arms wildly. 

At the conclusion of the 
speech, which did not meet 
the views either of "Abe" or 
Dennis, the latter declared 
that "Abe" could make a 
better speech than that. 
Whereupon he got a dry- 
goods box and called on 
"Abe" to reply to the cam- 
paign orator. 

Lincoln threw his old 
straw hat on the ground, 
and, mounting the dry- 
goods box, delivered a 
speech which held the atten- 
tion of the crowd and won him considerable applause. Even the campaign 
orator admitted that it was a fine speecii and answered every point in his own 
"oration." 

Denni:. Hanks, who thought "Abe" was aUnit the greatest man that ever 




430 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

lived, was delighted, and he often told how young "Abe" got the better of the 

trained campaign speaker. 

> 

"ABE" WANTED NO "SNEAKIN' 'ROUND." 

It was in 1830, when "Abe" was just twenty-one years of age, that the 
Lincoln family moved from Gentryville, Indiana, to near Decatur, Illinois, 
their household goods being packed in a wagon drawn by four oxen driven 
by "Abe." 

The winter previous the latter had "worked" in a country store in Gen- 
tryville and before undertaking the journey he invested all the money he 
had — some thirty dollars — in notions, such as needles, pins, thread, buttons 
and other domestic necessities. These he sold to families along the route 
and made a profit of about ore hundred per cent. 

This mercantile adventure of his youth "reminded" the President of a 
very clever story while the members of the Cabinet were one day solemnly 
debating a rather serious international problem. The President was in the 
minority, as was frequently the case, and he was "in a hole," as he after- 
wards expressed it. He didn't want to argue the points raised, preferring 
to settle the matter in a hurry, and an apt story was his only salvation. 

Suddenly the President's fact brightened. "Gentlemen," said he, address- 
ing those seated at the Cabinet table, "the situation just now reminds me of a 
fix I got into some thirty years or so ago when I was peddling 'notions' on 
the way from Indiana to Illinois. I didn't have a large stock, but I charged 
large prices, and I made money. Perhaps you don't see what I am driv- 
ing at?" 

Secretary of State Seward was wearing a most gloomy expression of 
countenance; Secretary of War Stanton was savage and inclined to be mo- 
rose; Secretary of the Treasury Chase was indifferent and cynical, while the 
others of the Presidential advisers resigned themselves to the liearing of 
the inevitable "story." 

"I don't propose to argue this matter," the President went on to say, 
"because arguments have no effect upon men whose opinions are fixed 
and whose minds are made up. But this little story of mine will make some 
things which now are in the dark show up more clearly." 

There was another pause, and the Cabinet officers, maintaining their 
previous silence, began wondering if the President himself really knew 
what he was "driving at." 

"Just before we left Indiana and crossed into Illinois," centinued Mr- 



YARNS AND STORIES. 43i 

Lincoln solemnly, speaking in a grave tone of voice, "we came across a 
small farmhouse full of nothing but children. These ranged in years from 
seventeen years to seventeen months, and all were in tears. The mother of 
the family was red-headed and red-faced, and the whip she held in her right 
hand led to the inference that she had been chastising her brood. The 
father of the family, a meek-looking, mild-mannered, tow-headed chap, was 
standing in the front door-way, awaiting — to all appearances — his turn to 
feel the thong. 

"I thought there wasn't much use in asking the head of that house if 
she wanted any 'notions.' She was too busy. It was evident an insurrec- 
tion had been in progress, but it was pretty well quelled when I got there. 
The mother had about suppressed it with an iron hand, but she was not 
running any risks. She kept a keen and wary eye upon all the children, not 
forgetting an occasional glance at the 'old man' in the doorway. 

"She saw me as I came up, and from her look I thought she was of the 
opinion that I intended to interfere. Advancing to the doorway, and 
roughly pushing her husband aside, she demanded my business. 

" 'Nothing, madame,' I answered as gently as possible; 'I merely dropped 
in as I came along to see how things were going.' 

" 'Well, you needn't wait,' was the reply in ail irritated way; 'there's 
trouble here, an' lots of it, too, but I kin manage my own affairs without the 
help of outsiders. This is jest a family row, but I'll teach these brats their 
places ef I hev to lick the hide off ev'ry one of them. I don't do much 
talkin', but I run this house, an' I don't want no one sneakin' round tryin' 
to find out how I do it, either.' 

"That's the case here with us," the President said in conclusion. "We 
must let the other nations know that we propose to settle our family row in 
our own way, and 'teach these brats their places (the seceding States) if 
we have to 'lick the hide ofT' of each and every one of them. And, like the 
old woman, we don't want any 'sneakin' 'round' by other countries who 
would like to find out how we are to do it, either. 

"Now, Seward, you write some diplomatic notes to that effect." 

And the Cabinet session closed. 



DIDN'T EVEN NEED SUITS. 

As the President considered it his duty to keep In touch with all the 
improvements in the armament of the vessels belonging to the United States 
Navy, he was necessarily interested in the various types of thesf floatinp 



432 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

fortresses. Not only was it required of the Navy Department to furnish 
seagoing warships, deep-draught vessels for the great rivers and the lakes, 
but this Department also found use for httle gunboats which could creep 
along in the shallowest of water and attack the Confederates in by-places 
and swamps. 

The consequence of the interest taken by Mr. Lincoln in the Navy was 
that he was besieged, day and night, by steamboat contractors, each one 
eager to sell his product to the Washington Government. All sorts of 
experiments were tried, some being dire failures, while others were more than 
fairly successful. More than once had these tiny war vessels proved them- 
selves of great service, and the United States Government had a large num- 
ber of them built. 

There was one particular contractor who bothered the President more 
than all tb.e others put together. He was constantly impressing upon IMr. 
Lincoln the great superiority of his boats, because they would run in such 
shallow water. 

"Oh, yes," replied the President, "I've no doubt they'll run anywhere 
where the ground is a little moist I" 



"HOW DO YOU GET OUT OF THIS PLACE?" 

"It seems to me," remarked the President one day while reading over 
some of the appealing telegrams sent to the War Department by General 
McClellan, "that McClellan has been wandering around and has sort of got 
lost. He's been hollering for help ever since he went South — wants some- 
body to come to his deliverance and get him out of the place he's got into. 

"He reminds me of the story of a man out in Hiinois who, in company 
with a number of friends, visited the State penitentiary. They wandered 
all through the institution and saw everything, but just about the time to 
depart this particular man became separated from his friends and couldn't 
find his way out. 

"He roam.ed up and down one corridor after another, becoming more 
desperate all the time, when, at last, he came across a convict who was look- 
ing out from between the bars of his cell-door. Here was salvation at last. 
Hurrying up to the prisoner he hastily asked : 

" 'Sayl How do you get out of this place?' " 



YARNS AND STORIES. 
"TAD" INTEODUCES "OUE FEIENDS." 



433 



President Lincoln often avoided interviews with delegations representing 
various States, especially when he knew the objects of their errands, and 
was aware he could not grant their requests. This was the case with several 
commissioners from Kentucky, who were put off from day to day. 

They were about to give up in despair, and were leaving the White 
House lobby, their speech being interspersed with vehement and uncom- 
plimentary terms concerning "Old Abe," when "Tad" happened along. He 
caught at these words, and asked one of them if they wanted to see "Old 
Abe," laughing at the same time. 

"Yes," he replied. 
"Wait a minute," 
said "Tad," and rushed 
into his father's office. 
Said he, "Papa, may I 
introduce some friends 
to you?" 

His father, always 
' indulgent and ready to 
make him happy, kind- 
Jhy said, "Yes, my son, 
I will see your friends." 
"Tad" went to the 
Kentuckians again, 
and asked a very dig- 
nified looking gentle- 
man of the party his 
name. He was told 
his name. He then 
said, "Come, 
men," and they 
lowed him. 
Leading them up to the President, "Tad," with much dignity, said, 

"Papa, let me introduce to you Judge , of Kentucky;" and quickly 

added, "Now Judge, you introduce the other gentlemen." 

The introductions were gone through with, and they turned out to be 
the gentlemen Mr. Lincoln had been avoiding for a week. Mr. Lincoln 
reached for the boy, took him in his lap, kissed him, and told him it was all 





gentle- 
fol- 



434 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

right, and tliat he had introduced his friend like a little gentleman as he was. 
Tad was eleven years old at this time. 

The President was pleased with Tad's diplomacy, and often laughed at 
the incident as he told others of it. One day while caressing the boy, he 
asked him why he called those gentlemen "his friends." "Well," said Tad, 
"I had seen them so often, and they looked so good and sorry, and said they 
were from Kentucky, that I thought they must be our friends." "That is 
right, my son," said Mr. Lincoln; "I would have the whole human race your 
friends and mine, if it were possible." 



MIXED TIP WORSE THAN BEFOEE. 

The President told a story which most beautifully illustrated the muddled 
situation of affairs at the time McClellan's fate was hanging in the balance. 
McClellan's work was not satisfactory, but the President hesitated to remove 
him; the general was so slow that the Confederates marched all around him: 
and, to add to the dilemma, the President could not find a suitable man 
to take McClellan's place. 

The latter was a political, as well as a military, factor; hi.s friends threat- 
ened that, if he v^as removed, many war Democrats would cast their influ- 
ence with the South, etc. It was, altogether, a sad mix-up, and the President, 
for a time, was at his wits' end. He was assailed on all sides with advice, 
but none of it was worth acting upon. 

"This situation reminds me," said the President at a Cabinet meeting 
one day not long before the appointment of General Halleck as McClellan's 
successor in command of the Union forces, "of a Union man in Kentucky 
whose two sons enlisted in the Federal Army. His wife was of Confederate 
sympathies. His nearest neighbor was a Confederate in feeling, and his 
two sons were fighting under Lee. This neighbor's wife was a Union woman 
and it nearly broke her heart to know that her sons were arrayed against 
the Union. 

"Finally, the two men, after each had talked the matter over with his wife, 
agreed to obtain divorces; this they did. and the Union man and Union 
woman were wedded, as were the Confederate man and the Confederate 
■woman — the men swapped wives, in short. But this didn't seem to help 
matters any, for the sons of the Union woman were still fighting for the 
South, and the sons of the Confederate woman continued in the Federal 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



435 



'Army; the Union husband couldn't get along with his Union wife, and the 
Confederate husband and his Confederate wife couldn't agree upon any- 
thing, being forever fussing and quarreling. 

"It's the same thing with the Army. It doesn't seem worth while to 
secure divorces and then marry the Army and McCIellan to others, for 
they won't get along any better than they do now, and there'll only be a new 
set of heartaches started. I think we'd better wait; perhaps a real fighting 
general will come along some of these days, and then we'll all be happy. If 
you go to m.ixing in a mix-up, you only make the muddle worse." 



"LONG ABE'S" FEET "PROTRUDED OVER." 

George M. rullman. th.e great sleeping car builder, once told a joke in 
which Lincoln was the prominent figure. In fact, there wouldn't have 
besn any joke had it not been for "Long Abe.'" At the time of the occur- 
rence, which was the foundation for the joke — and Pullman admitted that 
the latter was on hinii — Pullman was the conductor of his only sleeping-car. 
The latter was an experiment, and Pullman was doing everything possible 
to get the railroads to take hold of it. 

"One night," said Pullman in telling the story, "as we were about going 
out of Chicago — this was long before Lincoln was what you might call a 
renowned man — -a long, lean, ugly man, with a wart on his cheek, came into 
the depot. He paid me fifty cents, and half a berth was assigned him. 
Then he took off his coat and vest and hung them up, and they fitted the 
peg about as well as they fitted him. Then he kicked of? his boots, which 
were of surprising length, turned into the berth, and, undoubtedly having 
an easy conscience, was sleeping like a healthy baby before the car left the 
depot. 

"Pretty soon along came another passenger and paid his fifty cents. In 
two minutes he was back at me, angry as a wet hen. 

" 'There's a man in that berth of mine,' said he, hotly, 'and he's about ten 
feet high. How am I going to sleep there, I'd like to know? Go and look 
at him.' 

"In I went — mad, too. The tall, lank man's knees were under his chin. 
his arms were stretched across the bed and his feet were stored comfortablv 
— for him. I shook him until he awoke, and then told him if he wanted the 
whole berth he would have to pay $i. 



436 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

" 'My dear sir.' said the tall man, 'a contract is a contract. I have paid 
you fifty cents for half this berth, and, as you see, I'm occupying it. There's 
the other half,' pointing to a strip about six inches v/ide. 'Sell that and don't 
disturb me again.' 

"And so saying, the man with a wart on his face went to sleep again. He 
was Abraham Lincoln, and he never grew any shorter afterward. We 
became great friends, and often laughed over the incident." 



COULD LICK ANY MAN IN THE CROWD. 

When the enemies of General Grant were bothering the President with 
emphatic and repeated demands that the "Silent Man" be removed from 
command, Mr. Lincoln remained firm. He would not consent to lose the 
services of so valuable a soldier. "Grant fights," said he in response to the 
charges made that Grant was a butcher, a drunkard, an incompetent and a 
general who did not know his business. 

"That reminds me of a story," President Lincoln said one day to a dele- 
gation of the "Grant-is-no-good" style. 

"Out in my State of Illinois there was a man nominated for sheriff of 
the county. He was a good man for the office, brave, determined and 
honest, but not much of an orator. In fact, he couldn't talk at all; he 
couldn't make a speech to save his life. 

"His friends knew he was a man who would preserve the peace of the 
county and perform the duties devolving upon him all right, but the people 
of the county didn't know it. They wanted him to come out boldly on the 
platform at political meetings and state his convictions and principles; they 
had been used to speeches from candidates, and were somewhat suspicious 
of a man who was afraid to open his mouth. 

"At last the candidate consented to make a speech, and his friends were 
delighted. The candidate was on hand, and, when he was called upon, 
advajiced to the front and faced the crowd. There was a glitter in his eye 
that wasn't pleasing, and the way he walked out to the front of the stand 
showed that he knew just what he wanted to say. 

" 'Feller Citizens,' was his beginning, the words spoken quietly, 'I'm 
not a speakin' man; I ain't no orator, an' I never stood up before a lot of 
people in my life before; I'm not goin' to make no speech, 'xcept to say that 
1 can lick any man in the crowd!' 



YARNS AND STORIES. 
HIS WAY TO A CHILD'S HEAET. 



437 



Charles E. Anthony's one meeting with Mr. Lincoln presents an interest- 
ing contrast to those of the men who shared the emancipator's interest in 
public affairs. It was in the latter part of the winter of 1861, a short time 
before Mr. Lincoln left for his inauguration at Washington. Judge 
Anthony went to the Sherman House, where the President-elect was stop- 
ping, and took with him his son, Charles, then but a little boy. Charles 




played about the room as a child will, looking at whatever interested him 
for the time, and when the interview with his father was over he was ready 
to go. 

But Mr. Lincoln, ever interested in little children, called the lad to him 
ani took him upon his great knee. 

"My impression of him all the time I had been playing about the room," 
said Mr. Anthony, '"was that he was a terribly homely man. I was rather 
repelled. But no sooner did he sper^ to me than the expression of his face 



43« "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

changed completely, or, rather, my view of it changed. It at once became 
kindly and attractive. He asked me some questions, seeming instantly to 
find in the turmoil of all the great questions that must have been heavy upon 
him, the very ones that would go to the thought of a child. I answered him 
without hesitation, and after a moment he patted my shoulder and said : 

" 'Well, you'll be a man before your mother yet,' and put me dowH. 

"I had never before heard the homely old expression, and it puzzled me 
for a time. After a moment I understood it, but he looked at me while I 
\vas puzzling over it, and seemed to be amused, as no doubt he was." 

The incident simply illustrates the ease and readiness with which Lin- 
coln could turn from the mighty questions before the nation, give a moment's 
interested attention to a child, and return at once to matters of state. 



"LEFT THE WOMEN TO HOWL ABOUT ME." 

Donn Piatt, one of the brightest newspaper writers in the country, told 
a good story on the President in regard to the refusal of the latter to sanc- 
tion the death penalty in cases of desertion from the Union Army. 

"There was far more policy in this course," said Piatt, "than kind feeling. 
To assert the contrary is to detract from Lincoln's force of character, as 
well as intellect. Our War President was not lost in his high admiration 
of brigadiers and major-generals, and had a positive dislike for their meth- 
ods and the despotism upon which an army is based. He knew that he 
was dependent upon volunteers for soldiers, and to force upon such men 
as those the stern discipline of the Regular Army was to render the service 
unpopular. And it pleased him to be the source of mercy, as well ns the 
fountain of honor, in this direction. 

"I was sitting with General Dan Tyler, of Connecticut, in the ante- 
chamber of the War Department, .shortly after the adjournment of the Buell 
Court of Inquiry, of which we had been members, when President Lincoln 
came in from the room of Secretary Stanton. Seeing us, he said : 'Well, 
gentlemen, have you any matter worth reporting?' 

" 'I think so, Mr. President,' replied General Tyler. "We had it proven 
that Bragg, with less than ten thousand men, drove your eighty-three 
thousand men under Buell back from before Chattanooga, down to the 
Ohio at Louisville, marched around us twice, then doubled us up at Perry- 
ville, and finally got out of the State of Kentucky v.-ith all his plunder.' 



YARNS AND STORIES. 439 

" 'Now, Tyler,' returned the President, 'what is the meaning of all this; 
what is the lesson? Don't our men march as well, and fight as well, as these 
rebels? If not, there is a fault somewhere. We are all of the same family — 
same sort.' 

" 'Yes, there is a lesson,' replied General Tyler; 'we are of the same sort, 
but subject to different handling. Bragg's little force was superior to our 
larger number because he had it under control. If a man left his ranks, 
he was punished; if he deserted, he was shot. We had nothing of that sort. 
If we attempt to shoot a deserter you pardon him, and our army is without 
discipline.' 

"The President looked perplexed. 'Why do you interfere?' continued 
General Tyler. 'Congress has taken from you all responsibility.' 

" 'Yes,' answered the President impatiently, 'Congress has taken the 
responsibility and left the women to howl all about me,' and so he strode 
away." 



HE'D EUIN ALL THE OTHER CONVICTS. 

One of the droll stories brought into play by the President as an ally in 
support of his contention, proved most effective. Politics was rife among 
the generals of the Union Army, and there was more "wire-pulling" to 
prevent the advancement of fellow commanders than the laying of plans to 
defeat the Confederates in battle. 

However, when it so happened that the name of a particularly unpop- 
ular general was sent to the Senate for confirmation, the protest against his 
promotion was almost unanimous. The nomination didn't seem to please 
anyone. Generals who were enemies before conferred together for the pur- 
pose of bringing every possible influence to bear upon the Senate and secur- 
ing the rejection of the hated leader's name. The President was surprised. 
He had never known such unanimity before. 

"You remind me,"" said the President to a delegation of officers which 
called upon him one day to present a fresh protest to him regarding the 
nomination, "of a visit a certain Governor paid to the Penitentiary of his 
State. It had been announced that the Governor would hear the story of 
every inmate of the institution, and was prepared to rectify, either by com- 
mutation or pardon, any wrongs that had been done to any prisoner. 

■'One by one the convicts appeared before His Excellency, and each one 



440 "ABE"' LINCOLN'S 

maintained that he was an innocent man, who had been sent to prison because 
the poHce didn't Hke him, or his friends and relatives wanted his property, 
or he was too popular, etc., etc. The last prisoner to appear was an indi- 
vidual who was not all prepossessing. His face was against him: his eyes 
were shifty; he didn't have the appearance of an honest man, and he didn't 
act like one. 

" 'Well,' asked the Governor, impatiently, 'I suppose you're innocent like 
the rest of these fellows?' 

" 'No, Governor,' was the unexpected answer; 'I was guilty of the crime 
they charged against me, and I got just what I deserved.' 

"When he had recovered from his astonishment, the Governor, looking 
the fellow squarely in the face, remarked with emphasis : 'I'll have to pardon 
you, because I don't want to leave so bad a man as you are in the company 
of such innocent suflferers as I have discovered your fellow-convicts to be. 
You might corrupt them and teach them wicked tricks. As soon as I get 
back to the capital, I'll have the papers made out.' 

"You gentlemen," continued the President, "ought to be glad that so 
bad a man, as you represent this officer to be, is to get his promotion, for 
then you won't be forced to associate with him and sufifer the contamination 
of his presence and influence. I will do all I can to have the Senate contirm 
him." 

And he was confirmed. 



IN A HOPELESS MmOEITY. 

The President was often in opposition to the general public sentiment 
of the North upon certain questions of policy, but he bided his time, and 
things usually came out as he wanted them. It was Lincoln's opinion, from 
the first, that apology and reparation to England must be made by the 
United States because of the arrest, upon the high seas, of the Confederate 
Commissioners, Mason and Slidell. The country, however (the Northern 
States), was wild for a conflict with England. 

"One war at a time," quietly remarked the President at a Cabinet meet- 
ing, where he found the majority of his advisers unfavorably disposed to 
"backing down." But one member of the Cabinet was a really strong sup- 
porter of the President in his attitude. 

"I am reminded," the President said after the various arguments had 




THADDlLS STLVEXb was uiie ul the migluiebt political lacturs, in the United 
States for many years, especially just before and during the Civil War period. He was 
a radical Republican, a Union man throughout, and a pronounced enemy of slavery. He 
represented a Pennsylvania district in the Lower House of Congress for many years, and 
was one of the most insistent "of those who wished to see punishment meted out to the 
leaders of secession. He wanted Jefiferson Davis and others shot for the part they took 
in the Rebellion. Always a friend of Lincoln, he did not possess the latter's patience. 
He was born in V'ermont in 1792, and died in 1868. (441) 



Isr .- 



'Pf^^^^^'i^^^^:^^. 







JOHN SHERMAN, United States Senator from Ohio several terms, Secretary ol 
the Treasury in the Cabinet of President Hayes, and first Secretary of State m the first 
Cabinet of President McKinley, was close to President Lincoln and supported the political, 
war and foreign p.olicy of the National Administration. As Chairman of the Senate 
Committee on Finance during the War he was enabled to help the Government out in 
more than one crisis. He was a candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination in 
18S0-84-88; born in Ohio in 1823, and died in 1900, at Washington. He was General 
Sherman's brother. (4+2) 



YARNS 'AND STORIES. 443 

been put forward by the members of the Cabinet, "of a fellow out in my 
State of Illinois who happened to stray into a church while a revival meet- 
ing was in progress. To be truthful, this individual was not entirely sober, 
and with that instinct which seems to impel all men in his condition to assume 
a. prominent part in proceedings, he walked up the aisle to the very front 
pew. 

"All noticed him, but he did not care; for awhile he joined audibly in the 
singing, said 'Amen' at the close of the prayers, but, drowsiness overcom- 
ing him, he went to sleep. Before the meeting closed, the pastor asked 
the usual question — 'Who are on the Lord's side?' — and the congregation 
arose en masse. When he asked, 'Who are on the side of the Devil?' the 
sleeper was about waking up. He heard a portion-of the interrogatory, and, 
seeing the minister on his feet, arose. 

" 'I don't exactly understand the question,' he said, 'but I'll stand by 
you, parson, to the last. But it seems to me,' he added, 'that we're in a hope- 
less minority.' 

"I'm in a hopeless minority now," said the President, "and I'll have to 
admit it." 



"DID YE ASK MORRISSEY YET?" 

John Morrissey, the noted prize fighter, was the "Boss" of Tammany 
Hall during the Civil War period. It pleased his fancy to go to Congress, 
and his obedient constituents sent him there. Morrissey was such an 
absolute despot that the New York City democracy could not make a move 
without his consent, and many of the Tammanyites were so afraid of him 
that they would not even enter into business ventures without consulting the 
autocrat. 

President Lincoln had been seriously annoyed by some of his generals, 
who were afraid to make the slightest move before asking advice from 
Washington. One commander, in particular, was so cautious that he tele- 
graphed the War Department upon the slightest pretext, the result being 
that hi.^ troops were lying in camp doing nothing, when they should have 
been in the field. 

"This general reminds me," the President said one day while talking to 
Secretary Stanton, at the War Department, "of a story I once heard about 
a Tammany man. He happened to meet a friend, also a member of Tarn- 



444 "ABE" LINCOLN':^' 

many, on the street, and in the course of the talk the friend, who was beam- 
ing with smiles and good nature, told the other Tammanyite that he was 
going to be married. 

"This first Tammany man looked more serious than men usually do upon 
hearing of the impending happiness of a friend. In fact, his face seemed to 
take on a look of anxiety and worry. 

" 'Ain't you glad to know that I'm to get married?' demanded the second 
Tammanyite, somewhat in a huft. 

" 'Of course I am,' was the reply; 'but,' putting his mouth close to the 
ear of the other, 'have ye asked Morrissey yet?' 

"Now, this general of whom we are speaking, wouldn't dare order out 
the guard without asking Morrissey," concluded the President. 



GOT THE LAUGH ON DOUGLAS. 

At one time, when Lincoln and Douglas were "stumping" Illinois, they 
met at a certain town, and it was agreed that they would have a joint debate. 
Douglas was the first speaker, and in the course of his talk remarked that 
in early life, his father, who, he said, was an excellent cooper by trade, 
apprenticed him out to learn the cabinet business. 

This was too good for Lincoln to let pass, so when his turn came to reply, 
he said: 

"I had understood before that Mr. Douglas had been bound out to learn 
the cabinet-making business, which is all well enough, but I was not aware 
until now that his father was a cooper. I have no doubt, however, that he 
was one, and I am certain, also, that he was a very good one, for (here 
Lincoln gently bowed toward Douglas) he has made one of the best whiskey 
casks I have ever seen." 

As Douglas was a short heavy-set man, and occasionally imbibed, the 
pith of the joke was at once apparent, and most heartily enjoyed by all. 

On another occasion, Douglas made a point against Lincoln by telling 
the crowd that when he first knew Lincoln he was a "grocery-keeper," and 
sold whiskey, cigars, etc. 

"Mr. L.," he said, "was a very good bar-tender!" This brought the 
laugh on Lincoln, whose reply, however, soon came, and then the laugh 
was on the other side. 

".What Mr. Douglas has said, gentlemen," replied Lincoln, "is true 



YARNS AND STORIES. 44S 

enough; I did keep a grocery and I did sell cotton, candles and cigars, and 
sometimes whiskey; but I remember in those days that Mr. Douglas was 
one of by best customers. 

"I can also say this; that I have since left my side of the counter, while 
Mr. Douglas still sticks to his!" 

This brought such a storm of cheers and laughter that Douglas was 
unable to reply. 



"FIXED UP" A BIT FOR THE "CITY FOLKS." 

Mrs. Lincoln knew her husband was not "pretty," but she liked to have 
him presentable when he appeared before the public. Stephen Fiske, in 
"When Lincoln Was First Inaugurated," tells of Mrs. Lincoln's anxiety to 
have the President-elect "smoothed down" a little when receiving a delega- 
tion that was to greet them upon reaching New York City. 

"The train stopped/' writes Mr. Fiske, "and through the windows 
immense crowds could be seen; the cheering drowning the blowing off of 
»team of the locomotive. Then Mrs. Lincoln opened her handbag and said : 

" 'Abraham, I must fix you up a bit for these city folks.' 

"Mr. Lincoln gently lifted her upon the seat before him; she parted, 
combed and brushed his hair and arranged his black necktie. 

" 'Do I look nice now, mother?' he afifectionately asked. 

" 'Well, you'll do, Abraham,' replied Mrs. Lincoln critically. So he 
kissed her and lifted her down from the seat, and turned to meet Mayor 
Wood, courtly and suave, and to have his hand shaken by the other New- 
York officials." 



SVEN EEBELS OUGHT TO BE SAVED, 

The Rev. Mr. Shrigley, of Philadelphia, a Universalist, had been nomi- 
nated for hospital chaplain, and a protesting delegation went to Washington 
to see President Lincoln on the subject. 

"We have called, Mr. President, to confer with you in regard to the 
appointment of Mr. Shrigley, of Philadelphia, as hospital chaplain." 

The President responded: "Oh. yes, gentlemen. I have sent his name 
to the Senats, and he will no doubt be confirmed at an early date." 



446 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

One of the young men replied : "We have not come to ask for the 

appointment, but to solicit you to withdraw the nomination." 

"Ah!" said Lincoln, "that alters the case; but on what grounds do you 

wish the nomination withdrawn?" 

The answer was: "Mr. Shrigley is not sound in his theological opinions." 
The President inquired: "On what question is the gentleman unsound?" 
Response: "He does not believe in endless punishment; not only so, sir, 

but he believes that even the rebels themselves will be finally saved." 
"Is that so?" inquired the President. 
The members of the committee responded, "Yes, yes." 
"Well, gentlemen, if that be so, and there is any way under Heaven 

whereby the rebels can be saved, then, for God's sake and their sakes, let 

the man be appointed." 

The Rev. Mr. Shrigley was appointed, and served until the close of the 

war. 



TRIED TO DO WHAT SEEMED BEST. 

John M. Palmer, Major-General in the Volunteer Army, Governor of 
the State of Illinois, and United States Senator from the Sucker State, 
became acquainted with Lincoln in 1839, and the last time he saw the Presi- 
dent was at the White House in February, 1865. Senator Palmer told the 
story of his interview as follows : 

"I had come to Washington at the request of the Governor, to complain 
that Illinois had been credited with 18,000 too few troops. I saw Mr. 
Lincoln one afternoon, and he asked me to come again in the morning. 

"Next morning I sat in the ante-room while several officers were 
relieved. At length I was told to enter the President's room. Mr. Lincoln 
was in the hands of the barber. 

" 'Come in, Palmer,' he called out, 'come in. You're home folks. I 
can shave before you. I couldn't before those others, and I have to do it 
some time.' 

"We chatted about various matters, and at length I said : 

" 'Well, Mr. Lincoln, if anybody had told me that in a great crisis like 
this the people were going out to a little one-horse town and pick out a 
one-horse lawyer for President I wouldn't have believed it.' 

"Mr. Lincoln whirled about in his chair, his face white with lather, a 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



447 



towel under his chin. At first I thought he was angry. Sweeping the 
barber away he leaned forward, and, placing one hand on my knee, said : 

" 'Neither would I. But it was time when a man witli a policy would 
have been fatal to the country. I have never had a policy. I have simply 
tried to do what seemed best each day, as each day came.' " 



"HOLDING A CANDLE TO THE CZAR." 

England was anything but pleased when the Czar Alexander, of Russia, 
showed his friendship for the United States by sending a strong fleet to this 
country with the accompanying suggestion that Uncle Sam, through his 
representative, President Lincoln, could do whatever he saw fit with the 

ironclads and the munitions 
of war they had stowed away 
in their holds. 

London "Punch," on 
November "th, 1863, print- 
ed the cartoon shown on 
this page, the text under the 
picture reading in this way : 
"Holding a candle to the 
(]\Iuch the same 




;le ^ ii; ^'f -^ 



thing.) 



Of course, this was a cov- 
ert sneer, intended to convey 
the impression that Presi- 
dent Lincoln, in order to se- 
cure the support and friendship of the Emperor of Russia as long as the War 
of the Rebellion lasted, was willing to do all sorts of menial offices, even to 
the extent of holding the candle and lighting His Most Gracious Majesty, 
the White Czar, to his imperial bed-chamber. 

Tt is a somewhat remarkable fact that the Emperor Alexander, who ten- 
dered inestimable aid to the President of the United States, was the Lincoln 
of Russia, having given freedom to millions of serfs in his empire; and, 
further than that, he was, like Lincoln, the victim of assassination. He was lit- 
erally blown to pieces by a bomb thrown under his carriage while riding 
through the streets near the Winter Palace at St. Petersburg. 



44fi "A3E" LINCOLN'S 

NASHVTILE WAS NOT SIHIREUDERED. 

"I was told a mighty good story," said the President one day at a Cabinet 
meeting, "by Colonel Granville Moody, 'the fighting Methodist parson,' as 
they used to call him in Tennessee. I happened to meet Moody in Phil- 
adelphia, where he was attending a conference. 

"The story was about 'Andy' Johnson and Genera! Buell. Colonel 
Moody happened to be in Nashville the day it was reported that Buel! had 
decided to evacuate the city. The rebels, strongly re-inforced, were said to 
be within two days' march of the capital. Of course, the city was greatly 
excited. Moody said he went in search of Johnson at the edge of the 
evening and found him at his ofifice closeted with two gentlemen, who were 
walking the floor with him, one on each side. As he entered they retired, 
leaving him alone vvith Johnson, who came up to him, manifesting intense 
feeling, and said : 

" 'Moody, we are sold out. Buell is a traitor. He is going to evacuate 
the city, and in forty-eight hours we will all be in the hands of the rebels!' 

"Then he commenced pacing the floor again, twisting his hands and 
chafing like a caged tiger, utterly insensible to his friend's entreaties to 
become calm. Suddenly he turned and said: 

" 'Moody, can you pray?' 

" 'That is my business, sir, as a minister of the gospel,' returned the 
colonel. 

" 'Well, Moody, I wish you would pray,' said Johnson, and instantly both 
went down upon their knees at opposite sides of the room. 

"As the prayer waxed fervent, Johnson began to respond in true Meth- 
odist style. Presently he crawled over on his hands and knees to Moody's 
side and put his arms over him, manifesting the deepest emotion. 

"Closing the prayer with a hearty 'amen' from each, they arose. 

"Johnson took a long breath, and said, with emphasis: 

" 'Moody, I feel better.' 

■'Shortly afterward he asked : 

" 'Will you .stand by me?' 

" 'Certainly I will,' was the answer. 

"'Well, Moody, I can depend upon you; you are one in a hundred 
thousand.' 

"He then commenced pacing the floor again. Suddenly he wheeled, the 
current of his thought having changed, and said : 



V/iRNS AND STORIES. 449 

" 'OH. Moody. I don't want you to think I have become a religious man 
because I asked you to pray. I am sorry to say it, I am not, and never 
pretended to be religious. No one knows this better than you, but, Moody, 
there is one thing about it, I do believe in Almighty God, and I believe also 
in the Bible, and I say, d — n me if Nashville shall be surrendered!' 

"And Nashville was not surrendered!" 



HE COriDN'T WAIT FOR THE COLONEL. 

General Fisk. attending a reception at the White House, saw waiting in 
the anteroom a poor old man from Tennessee, and learned that he had been 
waiting three or four days to get an audience, on which probably depended 
the life of his son, under sentence of death for some military offense. 

General Fisk wrote his case in outline on a card and sent it in, with a 
special request that the President would see the man. In a moment the 
order came; and past impatient senators, governors and generals, the old 
man went. 

He showed his papers to Mr. Lincoln, who said he would look into the 
case and give him the result next day. 

The old man, in an agony of apprehension, looked up into the President's 
sympathetic face and actually cried out : 

"To-morrow may be too late ! My son is under sentence of death ! It 
ought to be decided now!" 

His streaming tears told how much he was moved. 

"Come." said Mr. Lincoln, "wait a bit and I'll tell you a story;" and then 
he told the old man General Fisk's story about the swearing driver, as 
follows : 

"The general had begun his military life as a colonel, and when he raised 
his regiment in Missouri he proposed to his men that he should do all the 
swearing of the regiment. They assented; and for months no instance was 
known of the violation of the promise. 

"The colonel had a teamster named John Todd, who, as roads were not 
always the best, had some difficulty in commanding his temper and his 
tongue. 

"John happened to be driving a mule team through a series of mudholes 
a little worse than usual, when, unable to restrain himself any longer, he 
burst forth into a volley of energetic oaths. 



450 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

"The colonel took notice of the offense and brought John to account. 

" 'John,' said he, 'didn't you promise to let me do all the swearing of the 
regiment?' 

" 'Yes, I did, colonel,' he replied, 'but the fact was, the swearing had to 
be done then or not at all, and you weren't there to do it.' " 

As he told the story the old man forgot his boy, and both the President 
and his listener had a hearty laugh together at its conclusion. 

Then he wrote a few words which the old man read, and in which he 
found new occasion for tears; but the tears were tears of joy, for the words 
saved the life of his son. 



LINCOLN PRONOUNCED THIS STORY FUNNY. 

The President was heard to declare one day that the story given below 
was one of the funniest he ever heard. 

One of General Fremont's batteries of eight Parrott guns, supported by 
a squadron of horse commanded by Major Richards, was in sharp conflict 
with a battery of the enemy near at hand. Shells and shot were flying 
thick and fast, when the commander of the battery, a German, one of Fre- 
mont's staff, rode suddenly up to the cavalry, exclaiming, in loud and 
excited terms, "Pring up de shackasses! Pring up de shackasses! For 
Cot's sake, hurry up de shackasses, im-me-di-ate-ly !" 

The necessity of this order, though not quite apparent, will be more 
obvious when it is remembered that "shackasses" are mules, carry moun- 
tain howitzers, which are fired from the backs of that much-abused but 
valuable animal; and the immediate occasion for the "shackasses" was that 
two regiments of rebel infantry were at that moment discovered ascending 
a hill immediately behind our batteries. 

The "shackasses," with the howitzers loaded with grape and canister, 
were soon on the ground. 

The mules squared themselves, as they well knew how, for the shock. 

A terrific volley was poured into the advancing column, which imme- 
diately broke and retreated. 

Two hundred and seventy-eight dead bodies were found in the ravine 
next day, piled closely together as they fell, the effects of that volley from 
the backs of the "shackasses." 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



451 



JOKE WAS ON LINCOLN. 

Mr. Lincoln enjoyed a joke at his own expense. Said he: "In the days 
when I used to be in the circuit, I was accosted in the cars by a stranger, 
who said, 'Excuse me, sir, but I have an article in my possession which 
belongs to you.' 'How is that?' I asked, considerably astonished. 




"The stranger took a jackknife from his pocket. 'This knife,' said he, 
'was placed in my hands some years ago, with the injunction that I was to 
keep it until I had found a man uglier than myself. I have carried it from 
that time to this. Allow me to say, sir, that I think you are fairly entitled 
to the property.' " 

— ■■■ — - — ■ e ,.,. . ■ 

THE OTHER ONE WAS WOESE. 



It so happened that an official of the War Department had escaped 
serious punishment for a rather flagrant offense, by showing where grosser 



'45^ 



■'ABE" LINCOLN'S 



irregularities existed in the management of a certain bureau of the Depart- 
ment. So valuable was the information furnished that the culprit who 
"gave the snap away" was not even discharged. 

"That reminds me," the President said, when the case was laid before 
him, "of a story about Daniel Webster, when the latter was a boy. 

"When quite young, at school, Daniel was one day guilty of a gross 
violation of the rules. He was detected in the act, and called up by the 
teacher for punishment. 

"This was to be the old-fashioned 'feruhng' of the hand. His hands 
happened to be very dirty. 

"Knowing this, on the way to the teacher's desk, he spit upon the palm 
of his right hand, wiping it oH upon the side of his pantaloons. 

" 'Give me your hand, sir,' said the teacher, very sternly. 

"Out went the right hand, partly cleansed. The teacher looked at it a 
moment, and said : 

" 'Daniel, if you will find another hand in this school-room as filthy as 
that, I will let you off this time !' 

"Instantly from behind the back came the left hand. 

" 'Here it is, sir,' was the ready reply. 

" 'That will do,' said the teacher, 'for thii time: you can take your seat. 



sir.' " 



'TD A BEEN MISSED BY MYSE'F." 

The President did not consider that every soldier who ran away in battle, 
or did not stand firmly to receive a bayonet charge, was a coward. He was 
of opinion that self-preservation was the first law of Nature, but he didn't 
want this statute construed too liberally by the troops. 

At the same time he took occasion to illustrate a point he wished to make 
bv a story in connection with a darky who was a member of the Ninth 
Illinois Infantry Regiment. This regiment was one of those engaged at the 
capture of Fort Donelson. It behaved gallantly, and lost as heavily as any. 

"Upon the hurricane-deck of one of our gunboats," said the President 
in telling the story, "I saw an elderly darky, with a very philosophical and 
retrospective cast of countenance, squatted upon his bundle, toasting his 
.shins against the chimney, and apparently plunged into a state of profound 
meditation. 

"As the negro rather interested me. I made some inquiries, and found 



YARNS AND STORIES. 453 

that he had really b"ecn wth the Ninth Illinois Infantry at Donelson, and 
began to ask him some questions about the capture of the place. 

" 'Were you in the fight?' 

" 'Had a little taste of it, sa.' 

" 'Stood your ground, did you?' 

" 'No, sa, I runs.' 

" T^un at the first fire, did you?' 

" 'Yes, sa, and \\'buld Iiab run soona, had I knowd it war cominV 

" 'Why, that wasn't ver}' creditable to your courage.' 

" 'Dat isn't my line, sa — cookin's my profeshun." 

"'Well, but have you no regard for your reputation?' 

" 'Reputation's nuffin to me by de side ob life.' 

" 'Do you consider your life worth more than other people's?" 

" 'It's worth more to me, sa.' 

" 'Then you must value it verj' highly?' 

" 'Yes, sa, I does, more dan all dis wuld, more dan a million ob dollars, 
sa, for what would dat be wuth to a man wid de bref out ob him? Self- 
preserbation am de fust law wid me.' 

" 'But why should you act upon a different rule from other men?' 

" 'Different men set different values on their lives; mine is not in de 
market.' 

" 'But if you lost it you would have the satisfaction of knowing that you 
died for your country.' 

" 'Dat no satisfaction when feeHn's gone.' 

" 'Then patriotism and honor are nothing to you?' 

" 'Nufin whatever, sat — I regard them as among the vanities.' 

" 'If our soldiers were like you. traitors might have broken up the gov- 
ernment without resistance.' 

" 'Yes, sa, dar would hab been no help for it. I wouldn't put my life in 
de scale 'g'inst any gobernment dat eber existed, for no gobernment could 
replace de loss to me.' 

" 'Do you think any of your company would have missed you if you had 
been killed?' 

" 'Maybe not, sa — a dead white man ain't much to dese sogers, let alone 
a dead nigga — but I'd a missed myse'f, and dat was de p'int wid me.' 

"I only tell this story," concluded the President, "in order to illustrate 
the result of the tactics of some of the Union generals who would be sadly 
'missed' by themselves, if no one else, if they ever got out of the Army." 



454 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

IT AIL "DEPENDED" UPON THE EFFECT. 

President Lincoln and some members of his Cabinet were with a part of 
the Army some distance south of the National Capital at one time, when 
Secretary of War Stanton remarked that just before he left Washington he 
had received a telegram from General Mitchell, in Alabama. General 
Mitchell asked instructions in regard to a certain emergency that had arisen. 

The Secretary said he did not precisely understand the emergency as 
explained by General Mitchell, but had answered back, "All right; go 
ahead." 

"Now," he said, as he turned to Mr. Lincoln, "Mr. President, if I have 
made an error in not understanding him correctly, I will have to get you to 
countermand the order." 

• "Well," exclaimed President Lincoln, "that is very much like the hap- 
pening on the occasion of a certain horse sale I remember that took place 
at the cross-roads down in Kentucky, vvhen I was a boy. 

"A particularly line horse was to be sold, and the people in large numbers 
had gathered together. They had a small boy to ride the horse up and down 
while the spectators examined the horse's points. 

"At last one man whispered to the boy as he went by: 'Look here, boy, 
hain't that horse got the splints?' 

"The boy replied : 'Mister, I don't know what the splints is, but if it's 
good for him, he has got it; if it ain't good for him, he ain't got it.' 

"Now," said President Lincoln, "if this was good for Mitchell, it was 
all right; but if it was not, I have got to countermand it." 



TOO SWIFT TO STAY IN THE ARMY. 

There were strange, queer, odd things and happenings in the Army 
at times, but, as a rule, the President did not allow them to worry him. 
He had enough to bother about. 

A quartermaster having neglected to present his accounts in proper 
shape, and the matter being deemed of sufficient importance to bring it to 
the attention of the President, the latter remarked : 

"Now this instance reminds me of a little story I heard only a short 
time ago. A certain general's purse was getting low, and he said it was 
probable he might be obliged to draw on his banker for some money. 



YARNS AND STORIES. 



455 



" 'How much do you want, father?" asked his son, who had been with 

him a few days. 

" 'I think I shall send for a couple of hundred,' replied the general. 
'■' 'Why, father,' said his son, very quietly, 'I can let you have it.' 
"'You can let me have it! Where did you get so much money?' 
" 'I won it playing draw-poker with your staff, sir i' replied the youth. 
"The earliest morning train bore the young man toward his home, and 

I've been wondering if that boy and that quartermaster had happened to 

meet at the same table." 



ADMIRED THE STRONa MAN. 

Governor Hoyt of Wisconsin tells a story of Mr. Lincoln's great admira- 
tion for physical strength. Mr. Lincoln, in 1859, made a speech at the 
Wisconsin State Agricultural Fair. After the speech, in company with the 

Governor, he strolled about the 
grounds, looking at the exhibits. 
They came to a place where a pro- 
fessional "strong man" was tossing 
cannon balls in the air and catching 
them on his arms and juggling with 
them as though they were light as 
baseballs. Mr. Lincoln had never 
before seen such an exhibition, and 
he was greatly surprised and inter- 
ested. 

When the performance was over. 
Governor Hoyt, seeing Mr. Lin- 
coln's interest, asked him to go up 
and be introduced to the athlete. 
He did so, and, as he stood looking 
down musingly on the man, who was 
very short, and evidently wondering 
that one so much smaller than he 
could be so much stronger, he sud- 
denly broke out with one of his quaint speeches. "Why," he said, "why, I 
could lick salt off the top of your hat." 





4$6 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 

WISHED THE ARMY CHARGED LIKE THAT. 

A prominent volunteer officer who, early in the War, was on duty in 
Washington and often carried reports to Secretary Stanton at the War 
Department, told a characteristic story on President Lincoln. Said he : 

"I was with several other young officers, also carrying reports to the 
War Department, and one morning we were late. In this instance we were 
in a desperate hurry to deliver the papers, in order to be able to catch the 
train returning to camp. 

"On the winding, dark staircase of the old War Department, which many 
will remember, it was our misfortune, while taking about three stairs at a 
time, to run a certain head like a catapult into the body of the President, 
striking him in the region of the right lower vest pocket. 

"The usual surprised and relaxed grunt of a man thus assailed came 
promptly. 

"We quickly sent an apology in the direction of the dimly seen form, 
feeling that the ungracious shock was expensive, even to the humblest clerk 
in the department. 

"A second glance revealed to us the President as the victim of t'he 
collision. Then followed a special tender of 'ten thousand pardons,' and the 
President's reply : 

*' 'One's enough; I wish the whole army would charge like that.' " 



"imCLE ABRAHAM" HAD EVEEYTHING READY. 

"You can't do anything with them Southern fellows," the old man at the 
table was saying. 

"If they get whipped, they'll retreat to them Southern swamps and 
bayous along with the fishes and crocodiles. You haven't got the fish-nets 
made that'll catch 'em." 

"Look here, old gentleman," remarked President Lincoln, who was 
.sitting alongside, "we've got just the nets for traitors, in the bayous or 
anywhere." 

"Hey? What nets?" 

"Bayou-nets!" and "Uncle Abraham" pointed his joke with his fork, 
spearing a fishball savagely. 



YARNS AND STORIES. 457 



NOT AS SMOOTH AS H£ LOOKED. 

Mr. Lincoln's skill in parrying troublesome questions was wonderful. 
Once he received a call from Congressman John Ganson, of Buffalo, one 
of the ablest lawyers in New York, who, although a Democrat, supported 
all of Mr. Lincoln's war measures. Mr. Ganson wanted explanations. Mr. 
Ganson was very bald with a perfectly smooth face. He had a most direct 
and aggressive way of stating his views or of demanding what he thought 
he was entitled to. He said: "Mr. Lincoln, I have supported all of your 
measures and think I am entitled to your confidence. We are voting and 
acting in the dark in Congress, and I demand to know — think I have the 
right to ask and to know^ — what is the present situation, and what are the 
prospects and conditions of the several campaigns and armies." 

Mr. Lincoln looked at him critically for a moment and then said : "Gan- 
son, how clean you shave!" 

Most men would have been ofifended, but Ganson was too. broad and 
intelligent a man not to see the point and retire at pnce, satisfied, from 
the field. 



A SMALL CHOP. 



Chauncey M. Depew says that Mr. Lincoln told him the following story, 
which he claimed was one of the best two things he ever originated: He 
was trying a case in Illinois where he appeared for a prisoner charged with 
aggravated assault and battery. The complainant had told a horrible story 
of the attack, which his appearance fully justified, when the District Attorney 
handed the witness over to Mr. Lincoln, for cross-examination. Mr. Lincoln 
said he had no testimony, and unless he could break down the complainant's 
story he saw no way out. He had come to the conclusion that the witness 
was a bumptious man, who rather prided himself upon his smartness in 
repartee and, so, after looking at him for some minutes, he said : 

"Well, my friend, how much ground did you and my client here fight 
over?" 

The fellow answered : "About six acres." 

"Well," said Mr. Lincoln, "don't you think that this is an almighty small 
crop of fight to gather from such a big piece of ground?" 

The jury laughed. The Court and District-Attorney and complainant 
all joined in, and the case was laughed out of court. 



458 "ABE" LINCOLN'S 



"NEVER REGRET WHAT YOU DON'T WRITE." 

A simple remark one of the party might make would remind Mr. Lincoln 
of an apropos story. 

Secretary of the Treasury Chase happened to remark, "Oh, 1 am so 
sorry that I did not write a letter to Mr. So-and-so before I left home !" 

President Lincoln promptly responded: 

"Chase, never regret what you don't write; it is what you do write that 
you are often called upon to feel sorry for." 



A VAIN GENERAL. 



In an interview between President Lincoln and Petroleum V. Nasby, the 
name came up of a recently deceased politician of Illinois whose merit was 
blemished by great vanity. His funeral was very largely attended. 

"If General had known how big a funeral he would have 

had," said Mr. Lincoln, "he would have died years ago." 



DEATH BED REPENTANCE. 

A Senator, who was calling upon Mr. Lincoln, mentioned the name of 
almost virulent and dishonest official; one, who, though very brilliant, was 
very bad. 

"It's a good thing for B ," said Mr. Lincoln, "that there is such 

a thing as a death-bed repentance." 



NO CAUSE FOR PRIDE. 

A member of Congress from Ohio came into Mr. Lincoln's presence 
ir a state of unutterable intoxication, and sinking into a chair, exclaimed 
!!: tones that welled up fuzzy throup:h the gallon or more of whiskey that he 
contained, "Oh, 'why should (hie) the spirit of mortal be proud?' " 

"My dear sir," said the President, regarding him closely, "I see no reason 
whatever." 




.UOKR BROOKE I X\L1 Una Ju.uce ot the L uu.d itate. bupremeTourTwhT 
W.11 ever be remcmnered as the author of the -Dred Scotf dectsion, wiLein he he d tZ 
a r^egro has no r.ghts a whue man is bound to respect," lived through ntore than th ee 
years of President Lincoln-s first administration. He was a great iuristnn Tlu 
.imous men of L,ncoh.s time, but was only offical.y asso^ated w^th th ' Sside t h : 
bemg httle tn ccmmon between them. Justice Taney was born ,n Maryland nw 777 and 
aied m 1864. He was appointed to the Supreme Court in 18.36. (459) 




PR] Di KKK D()L(jl \^^ the l. loud oratur whu di'l so nuich t.j bung the jicuplc 
of the North to a realizalion of the horrors of slavery, consulted with President Lincoln 
freely, and although the ideas of the foimer were too radical to be carried out, the two 
were very friendly. Douglass was born a slave, but succeeded in running away from 
his owner in Maryland and reached the North safely, being aided by William Lloyd 
Garrison and others. Douglass was seventy-nine years of age when he died in 1895. He 
spoke in all the Northern States of the United States and in Europe against slavery. (460) 



. . . THE . . . 

STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 



When Abraham Lincohi once was asked to tell the story of his life, he 
replied; 

"It is contained in one line of Gray's 'Elegy in a Country Churchyard' : 

■' "The short and simple annals of the poor." " 

That was true at the time he said it, as everything else he said was 
Truth, but he was then only at the beginning of a career that was to glorify 
him as one of the heroes of the world, and place his name forever beside the 
immortal name of the mighty Washington. 

Many great men, particularly those of America, began life in humbleness 
and poverty, but none ever came from such depths or rose to such a height as 
Abraham Lincoln. 

His birthplace, in Hardin county, Kentucky, was but a wilderness, and 
Spencer county, Indiana, to which the Lincoln family removed when Abra- 
ham was in his eighth year, was a wilder and still more uncivilized region. 
The little red schoolhouse which now so thickly adorns the country hillside 
had not yet been built. There were scattered log schoolhouses, but they were 
few and far between. In several of these Mr. Lincoln got the rudiments of an 
education — an education that was never finished, for to the day of his death 
he was a student and a seeker after knowledge. 

Some records of his schoolboy days are still left us. One is a book made 
and bound by Lincoln himself, in which he had written the table of weights 
and measures, and the sums to be worked out therefrom. This was his 
arithmetic, for he was too poor to own a printed copy. 

A YOUTHFUL POET. 

On one of the pages of this quaint book he had written these four Iine« 
of schoolboy doggerel : 

"Abraham Lincoln, 
His Hand and Pen, 
He Will be Good, 

But God knows when." 
461 



462 THE SrORV OF LIXCOL.WS LIFE. 

The poetic spirit was strong in tlie young scholar just then for on 
another page of the same book he had written these two verses, which are 
supposed to have been original with him : 

"Time, what an empty vapor 'tis, 
And days, how swift they are; 
Swift as an Indian arrow — 
Fly on like a shooting star. 

The present moment just is here, 

Then slides away in haste. 
That we can never say they're ours, 

But only say they're past." 

Another specimen of the poetical, or rhyming ability, is found in the 
following couplet, written by him for his friend, Joseph C. Richardson: 

"Good boys who to their books apply. 
Will all be great men by and by." 

In all Lincoln's "schooling" did not amount to a year's time, but he was 
a constant student outside of the schoolhouse. He read all the books he 
could borrow, and it was his chief delight during the day to lie under the 
shade of some tree, or at night in front of an open fireplace, reading and 
studying. His favorite books were the Bible and Aesop's fables, which he 
kept always within reach and read time and again. 

The first law book he ever read was "The Statutes of Indiana," and it 
was from this work that he derived his ambition to be a lawyer. 

MADE SPEECHES WHEN A BOY. 

When he was but a barefoot boy he would often make political speeches 
to the boys in the neighborhood, and when he had reached young manhood 
and was engaged in the labor of chopping wood or splitting rails he con- 
tinued this practice of speech-making with only the stumps and surrounding 
trees for hearers. 

At the age of seventeen he had attained his full height of six feet four 
inches and it was at this time he engaged as a ferry boatman on the Ohio 
river, at thirty-seven cents a day. 

That he was seriously beginning to think of public affairs even at this 
early age is shown by the fact that about this time he wrote a composition 



The story of lixcolns life. 463 

on the American Governmciit. urging- the necessity for preserving the Con- 
stitution and perpetuating the Union. A Rockport lawyer, by the name ol 
Pickert, who read this composition, declared that "the world couldn't 
beat it." 

When the dreaded disease, known as the "milk-sick" created such havoc 
in Indiana in 1829, the father of Abraham Lincoln, who was of a roving 
disposition, sought and found a new home in Illinois, locating near the town 
of Decatur, in Macon countv, on a bluff overlooking the Sanofamon river. 
A short time thereafter Abraham Lincoln came of age, and having done h.is 
duty to his father, began life on his own account. 

His first employer was a man named Denton Offut, who engaged Lin- 
coln, together with his step-brother and John Hanks, to take a boat-Ioarl of 
stock and provisions to New Orleans. Offut was so well pleased with the 
energy and skill that Lincoln displayed on this trip that he engaged him as 
clerk in a store which OfTut opened a few months later at New Salem. 

It was while clerking for Ofifut that Lincoln performed many of those 
marvelous feats of strength for which he was noted in his youth, and dis- 
played his wonderful skill as a wrestler. In addition to being six feet four 
inches high he now weighed two hundred and fourteen pounds. And his 
strength and skill were so great combined that he could out-wrestle and 
out-hft any man in that section of the country. 

During his clerkship in Offut's store Lincoln continued to read and 
study and made considerable progress in grammar and mathematics. Offut 
failed in business and disappeared from the village. In the language of 
Lincoln he "petered out," and his tall, muscular clerk had to seek other 
employment. 

ASSISTANT PILOT ON A STEAMBOAT. 

In his first public speech, which had already been delivered, Lincoln had 
contended that the Sangamon river was navigable, and it now fell to his lot 
to assist in giving practical proof of his argument. A steamboat had 
arrived at New Salem from Cincinnati, and Lincoln was hired as an assistant 
in piloting the vessel through the uncertain channel of the Sangamon ♦■iver 
to the Illinois river. The way was obstructed by a milldam. Lincoln 
insisted to the owners of the dam that under the Federal Constitution and 
laws no one had a right to dam up or obstruct a navigable stream and -^s 
he had already proved that the Sangamon was navigable a portion of tin 
dam waf torn away and the boat passed safely through. 



464 THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 

"CAPTAIN LINCOLN" PLEASED HIM. 

At this period in his career the Blackhawk W'ar broke out, and Lincoln 
was one of the first to respond to Governor Reynold's call for a thousand 
mounted volunteers to assist the United States troops in driving Blackhawk 
back across the Mississippi. Lincoln enlisted in the company from Sanga- 
mon county and was elected captain. He often remarked that this gave 
him greater pleasure than anything that had happened in his life up to this 
time. He had, however, no opportunities in this war to perform any dis- 
tinguished service. 

Upon his return from the Blackhawk War, in which, as he said afterward, 
in a humorous speech, when in Congress, that he "fought, bled and came 
away," he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Legislature. This was the 
only time in his life, as he himself has said, that he was ever beaten by the 
people. Although defeated, in his own town of New Salem he received all 
of the two hundred and eight votes cast except three. 

FAILUKE AS A BUSINESS MAN. 

Lincoln's next business venture was with William Berry in a general 
store, under the firm name of Lincoln & Berry, but did not take long 
to show that he was not adapted for a business career. The firm failed, 
Berry died and the debts of the firm fell entirely upon Lincoln. Many of 
these debts he might have escaped legally, but he assumed them all and 
it was not until fifteen years later that the last indebtedness of Lincoln & 
Berry was discharged. During his membership in this firm he had applied 
himself to the study of law, beginning at the beginning, that is with Black- 
stone. Now that he had nothing to do he spent much of his time lying 
under the shade of a tree poring over law books, borrowed from a comrade 
in the Blackhawk War, who was then a practicing lawyer at Springfield. 

GAINS FAME AS A STORY TELLER. 

It was about this time, too, that Lincoln's fame as a story-teller began 
to spread far and wide. His sayings and his jokes were repeated throughout 
that section of the country, and he was famous as a story-teller before anyone 
ever heard of him as a lawyer or a politician. 

It required no little moral courage to resist the temptation that beset 
an idle young man on every hand at that time, for drinking and carousing 








YOUNG LINCOLN ON A TRIP lO NEW ORLEANS. 

463 



466 THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 

were of daily and nightly occurrence. Lincoln never drank intoxicating 
liquors, nor did he at that time use tobacco, but in any sports that called 
for skill or muscle he took a lively interest, even in horse races and cock 
fights. 

SURVEYOR WITH NO STRINGS ON HIM 

John Calhoun was at that time surveyor of Sangamon county. He had 
been a lawyer and had noticed the studious Lincoln. Needing an assistant 
he offered the place to Lincoln. The average young man without any 
regular employment and hard-pressed for means to pay his board as Lincoln 
was, would have jumped at the opportunity, but a question of principle was 
involved which had to be settled before Lincoln would accept. Calhoun 
was a Democrat and Lincoln was a Whig, therefore Lincoln said, "I will 
take the office if I can be perfectly free in my political actions, but if my 
sentiments or even expression of them are to be abridged in any way, I would 
not have it or any other ofifice." 

With this understanding he accepted the office and began to study books 
on surveying, furnished him by his employer. He was not a natural mathe- 
matician, and in working out his most difficult problems he sought the 
assistance of Mentor Graham, a famous schoolmaster in those days, who had 
previously assisted Lincoln in his studies. He soon became a competent 
surveyor, however, and was noted for the accurate way in which he ran his 
lines and located his corners. 

Surveying was not as profitable then as it has since become, and the 
young surveyor often had to take his pay in some article other than money. 
One old settler relates that for a survey made for him by Lincoln he paid two 
buckskins, which Hannah Armstrong "foxed" on his pants so that the briars 
would not wear them out. 

About this time, 1833, he was made postmaster at New Salem, the first 
Federal office he ever held. Although the postoffice was located in a store, 
Lincoln usually carried the mail around in his hat and distributed it to people 
when he met them. 

A MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATURE. 

The following year Lincoln again ran for the Legislature, this time as 
an avowed Whig. Of the four successful candidates Lincoln received tlve 
second highest number of votes. 



■J 



THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 467 

When Lincoln went to take his seat in the Legislature at Vandalia he 
was so poor that he was obliged to borrow $200 to buy suitable clothes 
and uphold the dignity of his new position. He took little part in the pro- 
ceedings, keeping in the background, but forming many lasting acquaint- 
ances and friendships. 

Two years later, when he was again a candidate for the same office, there 
were more political issues to be met, and Lincoln met them with character- 
istic honesty and boldness. During the campaign he issued the following 
letter: 

"New Salem, June 13, 1836. 
"To the Editor of The Journal : 

"In }our paper of last Saturday I see a communication over the signa- 
ture of 'Many \'oters' in which the candidates who are announced in the 
Journal are called upon to 'show their hands.' Agreed. Here's mine : 

"I go for all sharing the privileges of the government who assist in 
bearing its burdens. Consequently, I go for admitting all whites to the right 
of suffrage who pay taxes or bear arms (by no means excludmg females). 

"If elected, I shall consider the whole people of Sangamon my constitu- 
ents, as well those that oppose as those that support me. 

"While acting as their Representative. I shall be governed by their will 
on all subjects upon which I have the means of knowing what their will is; 
and upon all others I shall do what my own judgment teaches me will best 
advance their interests. Whether elected or not, I go for distributing the 
proceeds of the sales of public lands to the several States to enable our State, 
in common with others, to dig canals and construct railroads without bor- 
rowing money and paying the interest on it. 

"If alive on the first Monday in November. I shall vote for Hugh L. 
White, for President. 

"Verv respectfully. 

"A." LINCOLN." 

This was just the sort of letter to win the support of the plain-spoken 
voters of Sangamon county. Lincoln not only received more votes than any 
other candidate on the Legislative ticket, but the county which had always 
been Democratic was turned Whig. 

THE FAMOUS "LONG NINE." 

The other candidates elected with Lincoln were Ninian W. Edwards, 
John Dawson, Andrew McCormick, "Dan" Stone, William F. Elkin, Robert 
L. Wilson, "Joe" Fletcher, and Archer G. Herndon. These were known 



468 THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 

as the "Long Nine." Their average height was six feet, and average weight 
two hundred pounds. 

This Legislature was one of the most famous that ever convened in Illi- 
nois. Bonds to the amount of $12,000,000 were voted to assist in building 
thirteen lumdred miles of railroad, to v. iden and deepen all the streams in the 
Slate and to dig a canal from tlie Illinois river to Lake Michigan. Lincoln 
favored all these plans, but in justice to him it must be said that the people 
he represented were also in favor of them. 

It was at this session that the State capital was changed from \'andalia 
to Springfield. Lincoln, as the leader of the '"Long Nine," had charge of 
the bill and after a long and bitter struggle succeeded in passing it. 

BEGINS TO OPPOSE SLAVEKY. 

At this early stage in his career Abraham Lincoln began his opposition 
to slavery which eventually resulted in his giving liberty to four million 
human beings. This Legislature passed the following resolutions on slavery : 

"Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Illinois: That we 
highly disapprove of the formation of Abolition societies and of the doctrines 
promulgated by them, 

"That the right of property in slaves is sacred to the slave-holding States 
by the Federal Constitution, and that they cannot be deprived of that right 
without their consent, 

"That the General Government cannot abolish slavery in the District of 
Columbia against the consent of the citizens of said district without a mani- 
fest breach of good faith." 

Against this resolution Lincoln entered a protest, but only succeeded 
in getting one man in the Legislature to sign the protest with him. 
The protest was as follows : 

"Resolutions upon the subject of domestic slavery having passed both 
branches of the General Assembly at its present session, the undersigned 
hereby protest against the passage of the same. 

"They believe that the institution of slavery is founded on both injustice 
and bad policy, but that the promulgation of abolition doctrines tends rather 
to increase than abate its evils. 

"They believe that the Congress of the United States has no power under 
the Constitution to interfere with the institution of slavery in the dififerent 
States. 

"They believe that the Congress of the United States has the power under 
the.Constitution to abolish slaverv in the District of Columbia, but that the 



THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 469 

power ought not to be exercised unless at the request of the people of the 
District. 

"The difference between these opinions and those contained in the above 
resolutions is their reason for entering this protest. 

••DAN STONE, 
•'A. LINCOLN. 
"Representatives from the county of Sangamon.'' 

BEGINS TO PRACnCE LAW. 

At the end of this session of the Legislature, Mr. Lincoln decided to 
remove to Springfield and practice law. He entered the office of John T. 
Stuart, a former comrade in the Blackhawk War, and in March, 1837, was 
licensed to practice. 

Stephen T. Logan was judge of the Circuit Court, and Stephen A. 
Douglas, who was destined to become Lincoln's greatest political opponent, 
was prosecuting attorney. When Lincoln was not in his law ofifice his head- 
quarters were in the store of his friend Joshua F. Speed, in which gathered 
.nil the youthful orators and statesmen of that day. and where many exciting 
arguments and discussions were held. Lincoln and Douglas both took part 
in the discussion held in Speed's store. Douglas was the acknowledged 
leader of the Democratic side and Lincoln was rapidly coming to the front 
as a leader among the Whig debaters. One evening in the midst of a 
heated argument Douglas, or "the Little Giant." as he was called, exclaimed: 

"This store is no place to talk politics." 

HIS FIRST JOINT DEBATE. 

Arrangements were at once made for a joint debate between the leading 
Democrats and Whigs to take place in a local church. The Democrats were 
represented by Douglas, Calhoun, Lamborn and Thomas. The Whig 
speakers were Judge Logan, Colonel E. D. Baker, Mr. Browning and Lin- 
coln. This discussion was the forerunner of the famous joint-debate between 
Lincoln and Douglas, wdiich took place some years later and attracted the 
attention of the people throughout the L^nited States. Although Mr. 
Lincoln was the last speaker in the first discussion held, his speech attracted 
more attention than any of the others and added much to his reputation as 
a public debater. 

Mr. Lincoln's last campaign for the Legislature was in 1840. In the 
same year he was made an elector on the Harrison presidential ticket, and 



470 THE STORY OF LINCOLNS LIFE. . 

in his canvass of the State frequently met the Democratic champion, Douglas, 
in debate. After 1840 Mr. Lincoln declined re-election to the Legislature, 
but he was a presidential elector on the Whig tickets of 1844 and 1852, and 
on the Republican ticket for the State at large in 1856. 

MARRIES A SPRINGFIELD BELLE. 

Among the social belles of Springfield was Mar}' Todd, a handsome and 
cultivated girl of the illustrious descent which could be traced back to the 
sixth century, to whom Mr. Lincoln was married in 1842. Stephen A. 
Douglas was his competitor in love as well as in politics. He courted Mary 
Todd until it became evident that she preferred Mr. Lincoln. 

Previous to his marriage Mr. Lincoln had two love affairs, one of them 
so serious that it left an impression upon his whole future life. One of the 
objects of his affection was Miss Mary Owen, of Green county, Kentucky, 
who decided that Mr. Lincoln "was deficient in those little links which 
make up the chain of woman's happiness." The affair ended without any 
damage to Mr. Lincoln's heart or the heart of the lady. 

STORY OF ANNE RUTLEDGE. 

Lincoln's first love, however, had a sad termination. The object of his 
affections at that time was Anne Rutledge, whose father was one of the 
founders of New Salem. Like Miss Owen, Miss Rutledge was also born 
in Kentucky, and was gifted with the beauty and graces that distinguish 
many Southern women. At the time that Mr. Lincoln and Anne Rutledge 
were engaged to be married, he thought himself too poor to properly sup- 
port a wife, and they decided to wait until such time as he could better his 
financial condition. A short time thereafter Miss Rutledge was attacked 
with a fatal illness, and her death was such a blow to her intended husband 
that for a long time his friends feared that he would lose his mind. 

HIS DUEL WITH SHIELDS. 

Just previous to his marriage with Mary Todd, Mr. Lincoln was chal- 
lenged to fight a duel by James Shields, then Auditor of State. The challenge 
grew out of some humorous letters concerning Shields, published in a 
local paper. The first of these letters was written by Mr. Lincoln. The 
others by Mary Todd and her sister. Mr. Lincoln acknowledged the author- 
ship of the letters without naming the ladies, and agreed to meet Shields 




LINCOLN AS A HIRED MAN TELLING A STORY. 

471 



472 THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 

on the field of honor. As he had the choice of weapons he named broad- 
swords, and actually went to the place selected for the duel. 

The duel was never fought. Mutual friends got together and patched 
up an understanding between Mr. Lincoln and the hot-headed Irishman. 

FORMS NEW PARTNERSHIP. 

Before this time Mr. i^mcoln had dissolved partnership with Stuart and 
entered into a law partnership with Judge Logan. In 1843 both Lincoln 
and Logan were candidates for nomination for Congress and the personal 
ill-will caused by their rivalry resulted in the dissolution of the firm and the 
formation of a new law firm of Lincoln & Herndon, which continued, nom- 
inally at least, until Mr. Lincoln's death. 

The congressional nomination, however, went to Edward D. Baker, who 
was elected. Two years later the principal candidates for the Whig nomina- 
tion for Congress were Mr. Lincoln and his former law partner. Judge 
Logan. Party sentiment was so strongly in favor of Lincoln that Judge 
Logan withdrew and Lincoln was nominated unanimously. The campaign 
that followed was one of the most memorable and interesting ever held in 
Illinois. 

DEFEATS PETER CARTWRIGHT FOR CONGRESS. 

Mr. Lincoln's opponent on the Democratic ticket was no less a person 
than old Peter Cartwright, the famous Methodist preacher and circuit 
rider. Cartwright had preached to almost every congregation in the district 
and had a strong following in all the churches. Mr. Lincoln did not under- 
estimate the strength of his great rival. He abandoned his law business 
entirely and gave his whole attention to the canvass. This time Mr. Lincoln 
was victorious and was elected by a large majority. 

When Lincoln took his seat in Congress, in 1847, he was the only Whig 
member from Illinois. His great political rival, Douglas, was in the Senate. 
The Mexican War had already broken out, which, in common with his 
party, he had opposed. Later in life he was charged with having opposed 
the voting of supplies to the American troops in Mexico, but this was a 
falsehood which he easily disproved. He was strongly opposed to the War, 
but after it was once begun he urged its vigorous prosecution and voted 
with the Democrats on all measures concerning the care and pay of the 
soldiers. His opposition to the War, however, cost him a re-election; it 



THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 473 

also cost his party the congressional district, which was carried by the Demo- 
crats in 1848. Lincoln's former tew partner, Judge Logan, secured the 
Whig nomination that year and was defeated. 

MAKES SPEECHES FOR "OLD ZACH." 

In the national convention at Philadelphia, in 1848, Mr. Lincoln was 
a delegate and advocated the nomination of General Taylor. 

After the nomination of General Taylor, or "Old Zach," or "Rough and 
Ready," as he was called, Mr. Lincoln made a tour of New York and several 
New England States, making speeches for his candidate. 

Mr. Lincoln went to New England in this campaign on account of the 
great defection in the Whig party. General Taylor's nomination was unsatis- 
factory to the free-soil element, and such leaders as Henry Wilson, Charles 
Francis Adams, Charles Allen, Charles Sumner, Stephen C. Phillips, Richard 
H. Dana, Jr., and Anson Burlingame, were in open revolt. Mr. Lincoln's 
speeches were confined largely to a defense of General Taylor, but at the 
same time he denounced the free-soilers for helping to elect Cass. Among 
other things he said that the free-soilers had but one principle and that they 
reminded him of the Yahkee peddler going to sell a pair of pantaloons and 
describing them as "large enough for any man, and small enough for any 
boy." 

It is an odd fact in history that the prominent Whigs of Massachusetts 
at that time became the opponents of Mr. Lincoln's election to the presi- 
dency and the policy of his administration, while the free-soilers, whom he 
denounced, were among his strongest supporters, advisers and followers. 

At the second session of Congress Mr. Lincoln's one act of consequence 
was the introduction of a bill providing for the gradual emancipation of the 
slaves in the District of Columbia. Joshua R. Giddings, the great anti- 
slavery agitator, and one or two lesser lights supported it, but the bill was 
laid on the table. 

After General Taylor's election Mr. Lincoln had the distribution of Fed- 
eral patronage in his own Congressional district, and this added much to his 
political importance, although it was a ceaseless source of worry to him. 

DECLINES A HIGH OFFICE. 

Just before the close of his term in Congress Mr. Lincoln was an appH- 
cant for the office of Commissioner of the General Land Office, but was 
unsuccessful. He had been such a factor in General Taylor's election that 



474 'I'HE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 

the administration thought something was clue him, and after his return 
to Illinois he was called to Washington and offered the Governorship of 
the Territory of Oregon. It is likely he would have accepted this had not 
Mrs. Lincoln put her foot down with an emphatic no. 

He declined a partnership with a well-known Chicago lawyer and return- 
ing to his Springfield home resumed the practice of law. 

From this time tmtil the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, which 
opened the w^ay for the admission of slavery into the territories, Mr. Lincoln 
devoted himself more industriously than ever to the practice of law, and 
during those five years he was probably a greater student than he had ever 
been before. His partner, W. H. Herndon, has told of the changes that 
took place in the courts and in the methods of practice while Mr. Lincoln 
was away. 

LINCOLN AS A LAWYER. 

When he returned to active practice he saw at once that the courts had 
grown more learned and dignified and that the bar relied more upon method 
and system and a knowledge of the statute law than upon the stump speech 
method of early days. 

Mr. Herndon tells us that Lincoln would lie in bed and read by candle 
light, sometimes until two o'clock in the morning, while his famous col- 
leagues, Davis, Logan, Swett, Edwards and Herndon, were soundly 
and sometimes loudly sleeping. He read and re-read the statutes and books 
of practice, devoured Shakespeare, who was always a favorite of his, and 
studied Euclid so diligently that he could easily demonstrate all the propo- 
sitions contained in the six books. 

Mr. Lincoln detested office work. He left all that to his partner. He 
disliked to draw up legal papers or to write letters. The firm of which he was 
a member kept no books. When either Lincoln or Herndon received a fee 
they divided the money then and there. If his partner were not in the ofifice 
at the time Mr. Lincoln would wrap up half of the fee in a sheet of paper, on 
which he would write, "Herndon's half," giving the name of the case, and 
place it in his partner's desk. 

But in court, arguing a case, pleading to the jury and laying down the 
law, Lincoln was in his element. Even when he had a weak case he was a 
strong antagonist, and when he had right and justice on his side, as he 
nearly always had, no one could beat him. 

He liked an out-door life, hence he was fond of riding the circuit. He 



THE STORY OF LINCOLX'S LIFE. 475 

enjoyed the company of other men, Hked discussion and argimient, loved to 
tell stories and to hear them, laughing as heartily at his own stories as he 
did at *:hose that were told to him. 

TELLING STOKIES ON THE CIRCUIT. 

The court circuit in those days was the scene of many a story-telling- 
joust, in which Lincoln was always the chief. Frequently he would sit up 
until after midnight reeling off story after story, each one followed by roars 
of laughter that could be heard all over the country tavern, in which the 
story-telling group was gathered. Every type of character would be repre- 
sented in these groups, from the learned judge on the bench down to the 
village loafer. 

Lincoln's favorite attitude was to sit with his long legs propped up on 
the rail of the stove, or with his feet against the wall, and thus he would sit 
for hours entertaining a crowd, or being entertained. 

One circuit judge was so fond of Lincoln's stories that he often would 
sit up until midnight listening to them, and then declare that he had laughed 
so much he believed his ribs were shaken loose. 

The great success of Abraham Lincoln as a trial lawyer was due to a 
number of facts. He would not take a case if he believed th.at the law and 
justice were on the other side. When he addressed a jury he made them 
feel that he only wanted fair play and justice. He did not talk over their 
heads, but got right down to a friendly tone such as we use in ordinary con- 
versation, and talked at them, appealing to their honesty and common sense, 
and making his argument plain by telling a story or two that brought the 
matter clearly within their understanding. 

When he did not know the law in a particular case he never pretended 
to know it. If there were no precedents to cover a case he would state his 
side plainly and fairly; he would tell the jury what he believed was right 
for them to do, and then conclude with his favorite expression, "it seems 
to me that this ought to be the law." 

Some time before the repeal of the Missouri Compromise a lawyer friend 
said to him: "Lincoln, the time is near at hand when we shall have to be 
all Abolitionists or all Democrats." 

"When that time comes my mind is made up," he replied, "for I believe 
the slavery question never can be compromised." 



476 THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 



THE LION IS AROUSED TO ACTION. 

While Lincoln took a mild interest in politics, he was not a candidate 
for office, except as a presidential elector, from the time of leaving Congress 
until the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. This repeal Legislation was 
the work of Lincoln's political antagonist, Stephen A. Douglas, and aroused 
Mr. Lincoln to action as the lion is roused by some foe worthy of his great 
strength and courage. 

Mr. Douglas argued that the true intent and meaning of the act was not 
to legislate slavery into any territory or state, nor to exclude it therefrom, 
but to leave the people perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic 
institutions in their own way. 

"Douglas' argument amounts to this," said Mr. Lincoln, "that if any 
one man chooses to enslave another no third man shall be allowed to object." 

After the adjournment of Congress Mr. Douglas returned to Illinois and 
began to defend his action in the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. His 
most important speech was made at Springfield, and Mr. Lincoln was 
selected to answer it. That speech alone was sufficient to make Mr. Lincoln 
the leader of anti-Slavery sentiment in the West, and some of the men who 
heard it declared that it was the greatest speech he ever made. 

With the repeal of the Missouri Compromise the Whig party began to 
break up, the majority of its members who were pronounced Abolitionists 
began to form the nucleus of the Republican party. Before this party was 
formed, however, Mr. Lincoln was induced to follow Douglas around the 
State and reply to him, but after one meeting at Peoria, where they both 
spoke, they entered into an agreement to return to their homes and make 
no more speeches during the campaign. 

SEEKS A SEAT IN THE SENATE. 

Mr. Lincoln made no secret at this time of his ambition to represent 
Illinois in the United States Senate. Against his protest he was nominated 
and elected to the Legislature, but resigned his seat. His old rival, James 
Shields, with whom he was once near to a duel, was then senator, and his 
terra was to expire the following year. 

A letter, written by Mr. Lincoln to a friend in Paris, Illinois, at this 
time is interesting and significant. He wrote: 

"I have a suspicion that a Whig has been elected to the Legislature from 




HENRY \\ AKD LLLlHI K was i h t i i 11 ^r i t t 1 r lent Lin- 

coln, his sermons from the pulpit of Plymouth Church doing much toward keeping up 
the spirit of th,' Northern men in the dark and gloomy days of the War. Springfield rifles 
were called '"Beecher's Bibles" because the clergyman urged every Unionist to buy one, 
and followed his own advice by subscribing for one of these weapons. He loved and ad- 
mired Lincoln, often counseled with him, and delivered a wonderful sermon at his death. 
Mr. Beecher was born in Connecticut in 1S13. and died in 1887. (477) 




EDWARD L\ LKLi i uua cl'1i;.;jil,uuu= among ihoic who iuuglit tu bring about the 
downfall of slavery long before the Civil War began, and after President Lincoln became 
the occupant of the White House Mr. Everett was a frequent and welcome visitor. Mr. 
Everett was the orator of the day at the dedication of the Field of Gettysburg as a National 
Cemetery, when Lincoln delivered his never-to-be-forgotten address. In i860 Mr. Everett 
allowed his name to appear as the Vice-Presidential candidate on the Constitutional-Union 
ticket, which received thirty-nine electoral votes. He .vas born in Massachusetts in 1794, 
and died in 1865. (478) 



THE STORY OF LINCOLNS LIFE. 479 

Eagar. If this is not so, why, then, 'nix cum arous;' but if it is so, then 
could you not make a mark with him for me for United States senator? I 
really have some chance." 

Another candidate besides Mr. Lincoln was seeking the seat in the 
United States Senate, soon to be vacated by Mr. Shields. This was Lyman 
Trumbull, an anti-slavery Democrat. When the Legislature met it was 
found that Mr. Lincoln lacked five votes of an election, while Mr. Trumbull 
had but five supporters. After several ballots Mr. Lincoln feared that 
Trumbull's votes would be given to a Democratic candidate and he deter- 
mined to sacrifice himself for the principle at stake. Accordingly he 
instructed his friends in the Legislature to vote for Judge Trumbull, which 
they did, resulting in Trumbull's election. 

The AJjolitionists in the West had become very radical in their views, 
and did not hesitate to talk of opposing the extension of slavery by the use 
of force if necessary. Mr. Lincoln, on the other hand, was conservative and 
counseled moderation. In the meantime many outrages, growing out of the 
extension of slavery, were being perpetrated on the borders of Kansas and 
Missouri, and they no doubt influenced Mr. Lincoln to take a more radical 
stand against the slavery question. 

An incident occurred at this time which had great effect in this direction. 
The negro son of a colored woman in Springfield had gone South to work. 
He was born free, but did not have his free papers with him. He was 
arrested and would have been sold into slavery to pay his prison expenses, 
had not Mr. Lincoln and some friends purchased his liberty. Previous to 
this Mr. Lincoln had tried to secure the boy's release through the Governor 
of Ilhnois, but the Governor informed him that nothing could be done. 

Then it was that Mr. Lincoln rose to his full height and exclaimed ; 

"Governor, I'll make the ground in this country too hot for the foot of a 
slave, whether you have the legal power to secure the release of this boy or 
not." 

HELPS TO OHGANIZE THE REPtJBLICAN PARTY. 

The year after Mr. Trumbull's election to the Senate the Republican 
party was formally organized. A state convention of that party was called 
to meet at Bloomington May 29, 1856. The call for this convention was 
signed by many Springfield Whigs, and among the names was that of Abra- 
ham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln's name had been signed to the call by his law 
partner, but when he was informed of this action he endorsed it fully. Among 



48o THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 

the famous men who took part in this convention were Abraham Lincoln, 
Lyman Trumbull, David Davis, Leonard Swett. Richard Yates, Norman 
B. Judd and Owen Lovejoy, the Alton editor, whose life, like Lincoln's, 
finally paid the penalty for his Abolition views. The party nominated for 
Governor, Wm. H. Bissell, a veteran of the Mexican War, and adopted a 
platform ringing with anti-slavery sentiment. 

Mr. Lincoln was the greatest power in the campaign that followed. He 
was one of the Fremont Presidential electors, and he went to work with all 
his might to spread the new party gospel and make votes for the old "Path- 
Finder of the Rocky Mountains." 

An amusing incident followed close after the Bloomington convention. 
A meeting was called at Springfield to ratify the action at Bloomington. 
Only three persons attended — Mr. Lincoln, his law partner and a man named 
John Paine. Mr. Lincoln made a speech to his colleagues,' in which, among 
other things, he said : "While all seems dead, the age itself is not. It liveth 
as sure as our Maker liveth." 

In this campaign Mr. Lincoln was in general demand not only in his 
own state, but in Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin as well. 

The result of that Presidential campaign was the election of Buchanan 
as President, Bissell as Governor, leaving Mr. Lincoln the undisputed leader 
of the new party. Hence it was that two years later he was the inevitable 
man to oppose Judge Douglas in the campaign for United States Senator. 

THE RAIL SPLITTER vs. THE LITTLE GIANT. 

No record of Abraham Lincoln's career would be complete without the 
story of the memorable joint debates between the "Rail-Splitter of the San- 
gamon Valley" and the "Little Giant." The opening lines in Mr. Lincoln's 
speech to the Republican Convention were not only prophetic of the coming 
rebellion, but they clearly made the issue between the Republican and Demo- 
cratic parties for two Presidential campaigns to follow. The memorable 
sentences were as follows: 

"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this Govern- 
ment cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect 
the Union to be dissolved; I do not expect the house to fall; but I do expect 
it will cease to be divided. It will become all the one thing or the other. 
Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it and place 
it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of 



THE srORy OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 481 

ultimate extinction, or its advocates will push it fonvard till it becomes alike 
lawful in all the states, old as well as new, North as well as South." 

It is universally conceded that this speech contained the most important 
utterances of Mr. Lincoln's life. 

Previous to its delivery, the Democratic convention had endorsed Mr. 
Douglas for re-election to the Senate, and the Republican convention had 
resolved that "Abraham Lincoln is our first and only choice for LTnited 
States Senator, to fill the vacancy about to be created by the expiration of 
Mr. Douglas' term of ofifice." 

Before Judge Douglas had made many speeches in this Senatorial cam- 
paign, Mr. Lincoln challenged him to a joint debate, which was accepted, 
and seven memorable meetings between these two great leaders followed. 
The places and dates were: Ottawa, August 21st; Freeport, August 27th; 
Jonesboro, September 15th; Charleston, September i8th; Galesburg, Octo- 
ber 7th; Quincy, October 13th; and Alton, October 15th. 

The debates not only attracted the attention of the people in the state 
of Illinois, but aroused an interest throughout the whole country equal to 
that of a Presidential election. 

WERE LIKE CROWDS AT A CIRCUS. 

All the meetings of the joint debate were attended by immense crowds of 
people. They came in all sorts of vehicles, on horseback, and many walked 
weary miles on foot to hear these two great leaders discuss the issues of the 
campaign. There had never been political meetings held under such unusual 
conditions as these, and there probably never will be again. At every place 
the speakers were met by great crowds of their friends and escorted to the 
platforms in the open air where the debates were held. The processions that 
escorted the speakers were most unique. They carried flags and banners 
and were preceded by bands of music. The people discharged caimons when 
they had them, and, when they did not, blacksmiths' anvils were made to 
take their places. 

Oftentimes a part of the escort would be mounted, and in most of the 
processions were chariots containing young ladies representing the dif?erent 
states of the Union designated by banners they carried. Besides the bands, 
there was usually vocal music. Patriotic songs were the order of the day, 
the '"Star-Spangled Banner" and "Hail Columbia" being great favorites. 

So far as the crowds were concerned, these joint debates took on the 
appearance of a circus day, and this comparison was strengthened by the 



482 THE STORY OF LLNtOLN'S LIFE. 

sale of lemonade, fruit, melons and confectionery on the outskirts of the 
gatherings. 

At Ottawa, after his speech, Mr. Lincoln was carried around on the 
shoulders of his enthusiastic supporters, who did not put him down until 
they reached the place where he was to spend the night. 

In the joint debates, each of the candidates asked the other a series of 
questions. Judge Douglas' replies to Mr. Lincoln's shrewd questions helped 
Douglas to win the Senatorial election, but they lost him the support of the 
South in the campaign for President two years thereafter. Mr. Lincoln was 
told when he framed his questions that if Douglas answered them in the way 
it was believed he would that the answers would make him Senator. 

"That may be," said Mr. Lincoln, "but if he takes that shoot he never 
can be President." 

The prophecy was correct. Mr. Douglas was elected Senator, but two 
years later only carried one state — Missouri — for President. 

HIS BUCKEYE CAMPAIGN. 

After the close of this canvass, Mr. Lincoln again devoted himself to the 
practice of his profession, but he was destined to remain but a short time in 
retirement. In the fall of 1859 ]\Ir. Douglas went to Ohio to stump the 
state for his friend, Mr. Pugh, the Democratic candidate for Governor. The 
Ohio Republicans at once asked ]\Ir. Lincoln to come to the state and reply 
to the "Little Giant." He accepted the invitation and made two masterly 
speeches in the campaign. In one of them, delivered at Cincinnati, he 
prophesied the outcome of the rebellion if the Southern people attempted 
to divide the Union by force. 

Addressing himself particularly to the Kentuckians in the audience, he 
said : 

"T have told you what we mean to do. I want to know, now, when that 
thing takes place, what do you mean to do? I often hear it intimated that 
you mean to divide the Union whenever a Republican, or anything hke it, 
is elected President of the United States. [A Voice — '"That is so."] 'That 
is so,' one of them says; I wonder if he is a Kentuckian? [A Voice — "He is 
a Douglas man."] Well, then, I want to know what you are going to do 
with your half of it? 

"Are you going to split the Ohio down through, and push your half of? 
a piece? Or are you going to keep it right alongside of us outrageous fel- 
lows? Or are you going to build up a wall some way between your count rv 







* r-4 -* 



-V, GA ^ 



LINCOLN AS A RAIL SPLITTER. 
483 



484 THE STORY OF LINCOL.VS LIFE. 

and ours, by which that movable property of yours can't come over here 
any more, to the danger of your losing it? Do you think you can better 
yourselves on that subject by leaving us here under no obHgation whatever 
to return those specimens of your movable property that come hither? 

"You have divided the Union because we would not do right vi-ith you, 
as you think, upon that subject; when w'e cease to be under obligations to 
do anything for you, how much better off do you think }-ou will be? Will 
you make war upon us and kill us all? Why, gentlemen, I tliink you are as 
gallant and as brave men as live: that you can fight as bravely in a good 
cause, man for man, as any other people living; that you ha\'e shown your- 
selves capable of this upon various occasions: but, man for man, you are not 
better than we are, and there are not so many of you as there are of us. 

"You wnll never make much of a hand at whipping us. If we were fewer 
in numbers than you, I think that you could whip us: if we were equal, it 
would likely be a drawn battle; but, being inferior in numbers, you will make 
nothing by attempting to master us. 

"But perhaps I have addressed myself as long, or longer, to the Ken- 
tuckians than I ought to have done, inasmuch as I have said that, whatever 
course you take, we intend in the end to beat you." 

FIRST VISIT TO NEW YORK. 

Later in the year Mr. Lincoln also spoke in Kansas, where he was 
received with great enthusiasm, and in February of the following year he 
made his great speech in Cooper Union, New York, to an immense gath- 
ering, presided over by William Cullen Bryant, the poet, who was then editor 
of the New York Evening Post. There was great curiosity to see the West- 
ern rail-splitter who had so lately met the famous "Little Giant" of the West 
in debate, and Mr. Lincoln's speech was Hstened to by many of the ablest 
men in the East. 

This speech won for liim many supporters m the Presidential campaign 
that followed, for his hearers at once recognized his wonderful ability to 
deal with the questions then uppermost in the public mind. 

FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT. 

The Republican National Convention of i860 met in Chicago, May 16, in 
an immense building called the "Wigwam." The leading candidates for 
President were William H. Seward of New York and Abraham Lincoln of 
Illinois. Among others spoken of were Salmon P. Chase of Ohio and Simon 
Cameron of Pennsylvania. 



THE STORY OF LIN COINS LIFE. 485 

On the first ballot for President, Mr. Seward received one hundred and 
seventy-three and one-half votes; Mr. Lincoln, one hundred and two votes, 
the others scattering. On the f^rst ballot, Vermont had divided her vote but 
on the second the chairman of the Vermont delegation announced: Ver- 
mont casts her ten votes for the young giant of the West-Abraham Lm- 

This was the turning point in the convention toward Mr. Lmcoln s nom- 
ination The second ballot resulted : Seward, one hundred and eighty-four 
and one-half; Lincoln, one hundred and eighty-one. On the third ballot, 
T^Ir Lincoln received two hundred and thirty votes. One and one-half votes 
more would nominate him. Before the ballot was announced. Ohio made a 
change of four votes in favor of Mr. Lincoln, making him the nominee for 

President. 

Other states tried to follow Ohio's example, but it was a long time 
before any of the delegates could make themselves heard. Cannons planted 
on top of the wigwam were roaring and booming; the large crowd in 
the wigwam and the immense throng outside were cheering at the top of 
their lungs, while bands were playing victorious airs. 

When order had been restored, it was announced that on the third ballot 
\braham Lincoln of Illinois had received three hundred and fifty-four votes 
and was nominated by the Republican party to the office of President of the 

United States. 

Mr. Lincoln heard the news of his nomination while sitting in a news- 
paper office in Springfield, and hurried home to tell his wife. 

\s Mr Lincoln had predicted. Judge Douglas' position on slavery in 
the territories lost him the support of the South, and when the Democratic 
convention met at Charleston, the slave-holding states forced the nomina- 
tion of John C. Breckinridge. A considerable number of people who did 
not a<^ree with either party nominated John Bell of Tennessee. 

Iirthe election which followed, Mr. Lincoln carried all of the free states, 
except New Jersev. which was divided between himself and Douglas; Breck- 
inridge carried all the slave states, except Kentucky, Tennessee and Vir- 
ginia" which went for Bell, and Missouri gave its vote to Douglas. 

FORMATION OF THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY. 

The election was scarcely over before it was evident that the Southern 
States did not intend to abide by the result, and that a conspiracy was on 
foot to divide the Union. Before the Presidential election even, the Secre- 



486 THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 

tary of War in President Buchanan's Cabinet had removed one hundred and 
fifty thousand muskets from Government armories in the North and sent 
them to Government armories in the South. 

Before Mr. Lincoln had prepared his inaugural address, South Carolina, 
which took the lead in the secession movement, had declared through her 
Legislature her separation from the Union. Before Mr. Lincoln took his 
seat, other Southern States had followed the example of South Carolina, 
and a convention had been held at Montgomery, Alabama, which had 
elected Jefferson Davis President of the new Confederacy, and Alexander H. 
Stevens, of Georgia, Vice-President. 

Southern men in the Cabinet, Senate and House had resigned their 
seats and gone home, and Southern States were demanding that Southern 
forts and Government property in their section should be turned over to 
them. 

Between his election and inauguration, Mr. Lincoln remained silent, 
reserving his opinions and a declaration of his policy for his inaugural 
address. 

Before Mr. Lincoln's departure from Springfield for Washington, threats 
had been freely made that he would never reach the capital alive, and. in 
facl^, a conspiracy was then on foot to take his life in the city of Baltimore. 

Mr. Lincoln left Springfield on February nth, in company with his wife 
and three sons, his brother-in-law, Dr. W. S. Wallace; David Davis, Norman 
B. Judd, Elmer E. Elsworth, Ward H. Lamon, Colonel E. V. Sunder of the 
United States Army, and the President's two secretaries. 

GOOD-BYE TO THE OLD FOLK. 

Early in February, before leaving for Washington, Mr. Lincoln slipped 
away from Springfield and paid a visit to his aged step-mother in Coles 
county. He also paid a visit to the unmarked grave of his father and 
ordered a suitable stone to mark the spot. 

Before leaving Springfield, he made an address to his fellow-townsmen, 
in which he displayed sincere sorrow at parting from them. 

"Friends," he said, "no one who has never been placed in a like position 
can understand my feelings at this hour, nor the oppressive sadness I feel 
at this parting. For more than a quarter of a century I have lived among 
you, and during all that time I have received nothing but kindness at your 
hands. Here I have lived from my youth until now I am an old man. Here 



THE STORY OF LLXCOLX'S LIFE. 487 

the most sacred tie? of earth were assumed. Here all my children were 
born, and here one of them lies buried. 

"To you, dear friends, I owe all that I have, all that I am. All the 
strange, checkered past seems to crowd now upon my mind. To-day I 
leave you. I go to assume a task more difficult than that which devolved 
upon Washington. Unless the great God who assisted him shall be with 
and aid me. I must fail; but if the same omniscient mind and almighty arm 
that directed and protected him shall guide and support'me, I shall not fail — 
I shall succeed. Let us all pray that the God of our fathers may not forsake 
us now. 

"To Him I commend you all. Permit me to ask that with equal sincerity 
and faith you will invoke His wisdom and guidance for me. With these 
words I must leave you, for how long I know not. Friends, one and all, I 
must now bid you an afYectionate farewell." 

The journey from Springfield to Philadelphia was a continuous ovation 
for Mr. Lincoln. Crowds assembled to meet him at the various places 
along the way, and he made them short speeches, full of humor and good 
feeling. At Harrisburg, Pa., the party was met by Allan Pinkerton, who 
knew of the plot in Baltimore to take the life of Mr. Lincoln. 

THE "SECRET PASSAGE" TO WASHINGTON. 

Throughout his entire life, x^braham Lincoln's physical courage was as 
great and superb as his moral courage. When Mr. Pinkerton and Mr. Judd 
urged the President-elect to leave for Washington that night, he positively 
refused to do it. He said he had made an engagement to assist at a flag- 
raising in the forenoon of the next day and to show himself to the people 
of Harrisburg in the afternoon, and that he intended to keep botli engage- 
ments. 

At Philadelphia the Presidential party was met by ]\Ir. Seward's son, 
Frederick, who had been sent to warn Mr. Lincoln of the plot against his 
life. Mr. Judd. Mr. Pinkerton and ]\Ir. Lamon figured out a plan to take 
Mr. Lincoln through Baltimore between midnight and daybreak, when 
the would-be assassins would not be expecting him, and this plan was car- 
ried out so thoroughly that even the conductor on the train did not know 
the President-elect was on board. 

Mr. Lincoln was put into his berth and the curtains drawn. He was 
supposed to be a sick man. When the conductor came around, Mr. Pin- 



488 THE STORY OF LINCOLX'S LIFE. 

kerton handed him the "sick man's" ticket and he passed on without ques- 
tion. 

When the train reached Baltimore, at half-past three o'clock in the 
morning, it was met by one of Mr. Pinkerton's detectives, who reported 
that everything was "all right," and in a short time the party was speeding on 
to the national capital, where rooms had been engaged for Mr. Lincoln and 
his guard at Willard's Hotel. 

Mr. Lincoln always regretted this "secret passage" to Washington, for 
it was repugnant to a man of his high courage. He had agreed to the plan 
simply because all of his friends urged it as the best thing to do. 

Now that all the facts are known, it is assured that his friends were right, 
and that there never was a moment from the day he crossed the Maryland 
line until his assassination that his life was not in danger, and was only 
saved as long as it was by the constant \igilance of those who were guarding 
him. 



HIS ELOaUENT INAUGUEAL ADDRESS. 

The wonderful eloquence of Abraham Lincoln — clear, sincere, natural 
— found grand expression in his first inaugural address, in which he not only 
outlined his policy toward the States in rebellion, but made that beautiful 
and eloquent plea for conciliation. The closing sentences of ]\Ir. Lincoln's 
first inaugural address deservedly take rank with his Gettysburg speech : 

'Tn your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen," he said, "and not in 
mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not assail 
you. 

"You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. 
You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while 
I shall have the most solemn one to 'preserve, protect and defend' it. 

"I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not 
be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our 
bonds of afifection. 

"The mystic cord of memory, stretching from every battle-field and 
patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, 
will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they 
will be, by the better angels of our nature." 



THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 489 

FOLLOWS PRECEDENT OF WASHINGTON. 

In selecting his Cabinet, Mr. Lincoln, consciously or unconsciously, fol- 
lowed a precedent established by Washington, of selecting men of almost 
opposite opinions. His Cabinet was composed of William H. Seward of 
Xew York, Secretary of State; Salmon P. Chase of Ohio, Secretary of the 
Treasury; Simon Cameron of Pennsylvania, Secretary of War; Gideon E. 
Welles of Connecticut, Secretary of the Navy; Caleb B. Smith of Indiana, 
Secretary of the Interior; Montgomery Blair of Maryland, Postmaster- 
General; Edward Bates of Alissouri, Attorney-General. 

Mr. Chase, although an anti-slavery leader, was a States-Rights Federal 
Republican, while IMr. Seward was a Whig, without having connected him- 
self with the anti-slavery movement. 

Mr. Chase and Mr. Seward, the leading men of Mr. Lincoln's Cabinet, 
were as widely apart and antagonistic in their views as were Jefferson, the 
Democrat, and Hamilton, the Federalist, the two leaders in Washington's 
Cabinet. But in bringing together these two strong men as his chief 
advisers, both of whom had been rival candidates for the Presidency, Mr. 
Lincoln gave another example of his own greatness and self-reliance, and 
put them both in a position to render greater service to the Government 
than they could have done, probably, as President. 

Mr. Lincoln had been in office little more than five weeks when the 
War of the Rebellion began by the firing on Fort Sumter. 

GREATER DIPLOMAT THAN SEWARD. 

The War of the Rebellion revealed to the people — in fact, to the whole 
world — the many sides of Abraham Lincoln's character. It showed him as 
a real ruler of men — not a ruler by the mere power of might, but by the 
power of a great brain. In his Cabinet were the ablest men in the country, 
yet they all knew that Lincoln was abler than any of them. 

Mr. Seward, the Secretar\- of State, was a man famed in statesmanship 
and diplomacy. During the early stages of the Civil War. when France 
and England were seeking an excuse to interfere and help the Southern 
Confederacy, Mr. Seward wrote a letter to our minister in London, Charles 
Francis Adams, instructing him concerning the attitude of the Federal 
government on the question of interference, which would undoubtedly have 
brought about a war with England if Abraham Lincoln had not corrected 
and amended the letter. 



490 THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 

He did this, too, without yielding a point or sacrificing in any way his 
own dignity or that of the country, . 



LINCOLN A GREAT GENERAL. 

Throughout the four years of war, Mr. Liiicohi spent a great deal of 
time in the War Department, receiving news from the front and conferring 
with Secretary of War Stanton concerning military afYairs. 

Mr. Lincoln's War Secretary. Edwin M. Stanton, who had succeeded 
Simon Cameron, was a man of wonderful personality and iron will. It is 
generally conceded that no other man could have managed the great War 
Secretary so well as Lincoln. Stanton had his way in most matters, but 
when there was an important difference of opinion he always found Lincoln 
was the master. 

Although Mr. Lincoln's communications to the generals in the field 
were oftener in the nature of suggestions than positive orders, every mih- 
tary leader recognized Mr. Lincoln's ability in military operations. In the 
early stages of the war. Mr. Lincoln followed closely every plan and move- 
ment of McClellan, and the correspondence between them proves Mr. Lin- 
coln to have been far the abler general of the two. He kept close watch of 
Burnside, too, and when he gave the command of the Army of the Potomac 
to "Fighting Joe" Hooker he also gave that general some fatherly counsel 
and advice which was of great benefit to him as a commander. 

ABSOLUTE CONFIDENCE IN GRANT. 

It was not until General Grant had been made Commander-in-Chief that 
President Lincoln felt he had at last found a general who did not need much 
advice. He was the first to recognize that Grant was a great military leader, 
and when he once felt sure of this fact nothing could shake his confidence 
in that general. Delegation after delegation called at the White House 
and asked for Grant's removal from the head of the army. They accused 
him of being a butcher, a drunkard, a man without sense or feeling. 

President Lincoln listened to all of these attacks, but he always had an 
apt answer to silence Grant's enemies. Grant was doing what Lincoln 
wanted done from the first — he was fighting and winning victories, and vic- 
tories are the only things that count in war. 




LINCOLN DEFENDING ARMSTRONG FOR MURDER. 

491 



492 THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LITE. 



SEASONS FOR FREEING THE SLAVES. 

The crowning act of Lincoln's career as President was the emanci- 
pation of the slaves. All of his life he had believed in gradual emancipation, 
but all of his plans contemplated payment to the slavehoklers. While he 
had always been opposed to slavery, he did not take any steps to use it as a 
war measure until about the middle of 1862. His chief object was to pre- 
serve the Union. 

He wrote to Horace Greeley that if he could save the Union without 
freeing any of the slaves he would do it; that if he could save it by freeing 
some and leaving the others in slavery he would do that; that if it became 
necessary to free all the slaves in order to save the Union he would take that 
course. 

The anti-slavery men were continually urging Mr. Lincoln to set the 
slaves free, but he paid no attention to their petitions and demands until 
he felt that emancipation would help him to preserve the Union of the 
States. 

The outlook for the Union cause grew darker and darker in 1862, and 
Mr. Lincoln began to think, as he expressed it, that he must "change his 
tactics or lose the game." Accordingly he decided to issue the Emancipa- 
tion Proclamation as soon as the Union army won a substantial victory. 
The battle of Antietam, on September 17, gave him the opportunity he 
sought. He told Secretary Chase that he had made a solemn vow before 
God that if General Lee should be driven back from Pennsylvania he would 
crown the result by a declaration of freedom to the slaves. 

On the twenty-second of that month he issued a proclamation stating 
that at the end of one hundred days he would issue another proclamation 
declaring all slaves within any State or Territory to be forever free, which was 
done in the form of the famous Emancipation Proclamation. 

HARD TO REFUSE PARDONS. 

In the conduct of the war and in his purpose to maintain the Union, 
Abraham Lincoln exhibited a will of iron and determination that could 
not be shaken, but in his daily contact with the mothers, wives and daugh- 
ters begging for the life of some soldier who had been condemned to death 
for desertion or sleeping on duty he was as gentle and weak as a woman, 



THE STORY OF LINCOLNS LIFE. 493 

It was a difficult matter for him to refuse a pardon if the slightest excuse 
could be found for granting it. 

Secretary Stanton and the commanding generals were loud in declaring 
that Mr. Lincoln would destroy the discipline of the army by his wholesale 
pardoning of condemned soldiers, but when we come to examine the indi- 
vidual cases we find that Lincoln was nearly always right, and when he 
erred it was always on the side of humanity. 

During the four years of the long struggle for the preservation of the 
Union, Mr. Lincoln kept "open shop," as he expressed it, where the general 
public could always see him and make known their wants and complaints. 
Even the private soldier was not denied admittance to the President's pri- 
vate ofifice, and no request or complaint was too small or trivial to enlist 
his sympathy and interest. 

A rUN-LOVING AND HUMOR-LOVING MAN. 

It was once said of Shakespeare that the great mind that conceived the 
tragedies of "Hamlet," "Macbeth," etc.. would have lost its reason if it had 
not found vent in the sparkling humor of such comedies as "The Merry 
Wives of Windsor" and "The Comedy of Errors." 

The great strain on the mind of Abraham Lincoln produced by four 
years of civil war might likewise have overcome his reason had it not found 
vent in the yarns and stories he constantly told. No more fun-loving or 
humor-loving man than Abraham Lincoln ever lived. He enjoyed a joke 
even when it was on himself, and probably, while he got his greatest enjoy- 
ment from telling stories, he had a keen appreciation of the humor in those 
that were told him. 

His favorite humorous writer was David R. Locke, better known as 
"Petroleum V. Nasby," whose political satires were quite famous in their 
day. Nearly every prominent man who has written his recollections of 
Lincoln has told how the President, in the middle of a conversation on some 
serious subject, would suddenly stop and ask his hearer if he ever read the 
Nasby letters. 

Then he would take from his desk a pamphlet containing the letters and 
proceed to read them, laughing heartily at all the good points they con- 
tained. There is probably no better evidence of Mr. Lincoln's love of humor 
and appreciation of it than his letter to Nasby, in which he said : "For the 
ability to write these things I would gladly trade places with you." 



494 THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 

THE END IN SIGHT. 

Mr. Lincoln was re-elected President in 1864. His opponent on the 
Democratic ticket was General George B. McClellan, whose command of 
the Army of the Potomac had been so unsatisfactory at the beginning of the 
war. Mr. Lincoln's election was almost unanimous, as McClellan carried 
but three States — Delaware, Kentucky and New Jersey. 

General Grant, in a telegram of congratulation, said that it was "a vic- 
tory worth more to the country than a battle won." 

The war was fast drawing to a close. The black war clouds were break- 
ing and rolling away. Sherman had made his famous march to the sea. 
Through swamp and ravine. Grant was rapidly tightening the lines around 
Richmond. Thomas had won his title of the "Rock of Chickamauga." 
Sheridan had won his spurs as the great modern cavalry commander, and 
had cleaned out the Shenandoah Valley. Sherman was coming back from 
his famous march to join Grant at Richmond. 

The Confederacy was without a navy. The Kearsarge had sunk the 
Alabama, and Farragut had fought and won the famous victory in Mobile 
Bay. It was certain that Lee would soon have to evacuate Richmond only 
to fall into the hands of Grant. 

Lincoln saw the dawn of peace. When he came to dehver his second 
inaugural address, it contained no note of victory, no exultation over a 
fallen foe. On the contrary, it breathed the spirit of brotherly love and of 
prayer for an early peace: "With malice toward none, with charity for all, 
with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us finish the 
work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall 
have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphans, to do all which 
may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and 
with all nation.s." 

Not long thereafter, General Lee evacuated Richmond with about half 
of his original army, closely pursued by Grant. The boys in blue overtook 
their brothers in gray at Appomattox Court House, and there, beneath the 
warm rays of an April sun, the great Confederate general made his final" 
surrender. The war was over, the American flag was floated over all the 
territory of the United States, and peace was now a reality. Mr. Lincoln 
visited Richmond and the final scenes of the war and then returned to Wash- 
ington to carry out his announced plan of "binding up the nation's 
wounds." 




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■ ,*^.V 




CORNELIUS VANUERBILT, founder of the House of Vanderbilt, was a firm 
and staunch friend of the Union, as was shown when he made a gift to the United States 
Government of a ship worth $1,000,000. As a large owner of vessels his advice was much 
sought after, and President Lincoln had a high regard lor him. When Commodore 
Vanderbilt died, in 1877, he left $100,000,000. which has since been increased to fully 
$500,000,000. He was born on Staten Island in 1794. and was a factor in the development 
of the "-ail-oad system of the East. (495) 



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ALl^-\x\ 1 Ii>KI KJUi\ 111 I'liinv n-.pci.ls Uk LMctitcst ^hi twdt^t ami niii-.L successful 
detective the world has known, accompanied President Lincohi from Springfield, Illinois, 
to Washington in February, i86i. The safety of the person of the President-elect was in 
his care, and it would have been an impossibility for an assassin to have harmed Mr. 
Lincoln, Pinkerton's watchful eyes being upon all who approached. The agency he estab- 
lished is noted for the thorough manner in which it runs down criminals, its "rogues' 
gallery" is the most complete ever made. Mr. Pinkerton was born in Scotland in 1819, 
and died in 1884. (496) 



THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 497 

He had now reached the climax of his career and touched the highest 
point of his greatness. His great task was over, and the heavy burden that 
had so long worn upon his heart was lifted. 

While the whole nation was rejoicing over the return of peace, the 
Saviour of the Union was stricken down bv the hand of an assassin. 



WARNINGS OF HIS TEAGIC DEATH. 

From early youth. I\Ir. Lincoln had presentiments that he would die a 
violent death, or, rather, that his final days would be marked by some great 
tragic event. From the time of his first election to the Presidency, his 
closest friends had tried to make him understand that he was in constant 
danger of assassination, but, notwithstanding his presentiments, he had such 
splendid courage that he only laughed at their fears. 

During the summer months he lived at the Soldiers' Home, some miles 
from Washington, and frequently made the trip between the White House 
and the Home without a guard or escort. Secretary of War Stanton and 
Ward Lamon, Marshal of the District, were almost constantly alarmed over 
Mr. Uncoln's carelessness in exposing himself to the danger of assassina- 
tion. 

They warned him time and again, and provided suitable body-guards 
to attend him. But Mr. Lincoln would often give the guards the slip, and, 
mounting his favorite riding horse, "Old Abe," would set out alone after 
dark from the White House for the Soldiers' Home. 

While riding to the Home one night, he was fired upon by some one in 
ambush, the bullet passing through his high hat. Mr. Lincoln would not 
admit that the man who fired the shot had tried to kill him. He always 
attributed it to an accident, and begged his friends to say nothing about it. 

Now that all the circumstances of the assassination are known, it is plain 
that there was a deep-laid and well-conceived plot to kill Mr. Lincoln long 
before the crime was actually committed. When Mr. Lincoln was delivering 
his second inaugural address on the steps of the Capitol, an excited individ- 
ual tried to force his way through the guards in the building to get on the 
platform with Mr. Lincoln. 

It was afterward learned that this man was John Wilkes Booth, who 
afterwards assassinated Mr. Lincoln in Ford's Theatre, on the night of the 
14th of April. 



498 THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE, 



LINCOLN AT THE THEATRE. 

The manager of the theatre had invited the President to witness a per- 
formance of a new play known as "Our American Cousin," in which the 
famous actress, Laura Keane, was playing. Mr. Lincoln was particularly 
fond of the theatre. He loved Shakespeare's plays above all others and never 
missed a chance to see the leading Shakespearean actors. 

As "Our American Cousin" was a new play, the President did not care 
particularly to see it, but as Mrs. Lincoln was anxious to go, he consented 
and accepted the invitation. 

General Grant was in Washington at the time, and as he was extremely 
anxious about the personal safety of the President, he reported every day 
regularly at the White House. Mr. Lincoln invited General Grant and his 
wife to accompany him and Mrs. Lincoln to the theatre on the night of the 
assassination, and the general accepted, but while they were talking he 
received a note from Mrs. Grant saying that she wished to leave A\'ashington 
that evening to visit her daughter in Burlington. General Grant made his 
excuses to the President and left to accompany Mrs. Grant to the railway 
station. It afterwards became known that it was also a part of the plot to 
assassinate General Grant, and only Mrs. Grant's departure from Washing- 
ton that evening prevented the attempt from being made. 

General Grant afterwards said that as he and Mrs. Grant were riding 
along Pennsylvania avenue to the railwaj' station a horseman rode rapidly 
by at a gallop, and, wheeHng his horse, rode back, peering into their carriage 
as he passed. 

Mrs. Grant remarked to the general : "That is the very man who sat 
near us at luncheon to-day and tried to overhear our conversation. He 
was so rude, you remember, as to cause us to leave the dining-room. Here 
he is again, riding after us." 

General Grant attributed the action of the man to idle curiosity, but 
learned afterward that the horseman was John Wilkes Booth. 

lAMON'S LEMARKABLE REQUEST. 

Probably one reason why Mr. Lincoln did not particu.any care to go 
to the theatre that night was a sort of half promise he had made to his friend 
and bodyguard. Marshal Lamon. Two days previous he had sent Lamon 
to Richmond on business connected with a call of a convention for recon- 



THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 499 

stniction. Before leaving, Mr. Lanion saw Mr. Usher, the Secretary of Uic 
Interior, and asked him to persuade Mr. Lincohi to use more caution about 
his personal safety, and to go out as little as possible while Lamon was 
absent. Together they went to see Mr. Lincoln, and Lamon asked the 
President if he would make him a promise. 

"I think I can venture to say I will," said Mr. Lincoln. "What is it?" 

"Promise me that you will not go out after night while I am gone," said 
Mr. Lamon, "particularly to the theatre." 

Mr. Lincoln turned to Mr. U.sher and said : "Usher, this boy is a mono- 
maniac on the subject of my safety. I can hear him or Iiear of his being 
around at all times in the night, to prevent somebody from murdering me. 
lie thinks I shall be killed, and we think he is going crazy. What does 
any one want to assassinate me for? If any one wants to do so. he can do 
it any day or night if he is ready to give his life for mine. It is nonsense." 

Mr. Usher said to Mr. Lincoln that it was well to heed Lamon's warn- 
ing, as he was thrown among people from whom he had better opportunities 
to know about such matters than almost any one. 

"Well," said Mr. Lincoln to Lamon, "I promise to do the best I can 
toward it." 

HOW LINCOLN WAS MURDERED. 

The assassination of President Lincoln was most carefully planned, even 
to the smallest detail. The box set apart for the President's party was a 
double one in the second tier at the left of the stage. The box had two 
doors with spring locks, but Booth had loosened the screws with which they 
were fastened so that it was impossible to secure them from the inside. In 
one door he had bored a hole with a gimlet, so that he could see what was 
going on inside the box. 

An employe of the theatre by the name of Spangler, who was an accom- 
plice of the assassin, had even arranged the seats in the box to suit the pur- 
poses of Booth. 

On the fateful night the theatre was packed. The Presidential party 
arrived a few minutes after nine o'clock, and consisted of the President 
and Mrs. Lin "'i. Miss Harris and Major Rathbone, daughter and step- 
son of Senatdr Jiiarris of New York. The immense audience rose to its feet 
and cheered the President as he passed to his box. 

Booth came into the theatre about ten o'clock. He had not only 
planned to kill the President, but he had also planned to escape into Mary- 



500 THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 

land, and a swift horse, saddled and ready for the journey, was tied in the 
rear of the theatre. For a few minutes he pretended to be interested in the 
performance, and then gradually made his way back to the door of the 
President's box. 

Before reaching there, however, he was confronted by one of the Presi- 
dent's messengers, who had been stationed at the end of the passage leading 
to the boxes to prevent anv one from intruding. To this man Booth handed 
a card saying that the President hnrl sent for him. and was permitted to 
enter. 

Once inside the hallway leading to the boxes, he closed the hall door and 
fastened it by a bar prepared for the occasion, so that it was impossible to 
open it from v.-ithout. Then he quickly entered the box through the right- 
hand door. The President was sitting in an easy armchair in the left-hand 
corner of the box nearest the audience. He was leaning on one hand and 
with the other had hold of a portion of the drapery. There was a smile 
on his face. The other members of the party were intently watching the 
performance on the stage. 

The assassin carried in his right hand a small silver-mounted derringer 
pistol and in his left a long double-edged dagger. lie placed the pistol 
just behind the President's left ear and fired. 

Mr. Lincoln bent slightly forward and his eyes closed, but in every other- 
respect his attitude remained unchanged. 

The report of the pistol startled Major Rathbone, who sprang to his feet. 
The murderer was then about six feet from the President, and Rathbone 
grappled with him, but was shaken ofi. Dropping his pistol, Booth struck at 
Rathbone with the dagger and inflicted a severe wound. The assassin then 
placed his left hand hghtly on the railing of the box and jumped to the staare, 
eight or nine feet below. 

BOOTH BRANDISHES HIS DAGGER AND ESCAPES. 

The box was draped with the American flag, and, in jumping. Booth's 
spurs caught in the folds, tearing down the flag, the assassin falling heavily 
to the stage and spraining his ankle. He arose, however, and walked theat- 
rically across the stage, brandished his knife and shouted, "Sic semper 
tyrannis!" and then added, "The South is avenged." 

For the moment the audience was horrified and incapable of action. 
One man only, a lawyer named Stuart, had sutftcient presence of mind to 
leap upon the stage and attempt to capture the assassin. Booth went to the 



THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 501 

rear door of the stage, where his horse was held in readiness for hnn, and, 
leaping into the saddle, dashed through the streets toward Virginia. Miss 
Keane rushed to the President's box with water and stimulants, and medical 
aid was summoned. 

By this time the audience realized the tragedy that had been enacted, 
and then followed a scene such as has never been witnessed in any public 
gathering in this country. Women wept, shrieked and fainted; men raved 
and swore^ and horror was depicted on every face. Before the audience 
could be gotten out of the theatre, horsemen were dashing through the 
streets and the telegraph was carrying the terrible details of the tragedy 
throughout the nation. 

WAIT WHITMANS DESCRIPTION. 

Walt Whitman, the poet, has sketched in graphic language the scenes of 
that most eventful fourteenth of April. His account of the assassination has 
become historic, and is herewith given : 

"The day (April 14, 1865) seems to have been a pleasant one throughout 
the whole land — the moral atmosphere pleasant, too — the long storm, so 
dark, so fratricidal, full of blood and doubt and gloom, over and ended at last 
by the sunrise of such an absolute national victory, and utter breaking down 
of secessiouism — we almost doubted our senses ! Lee had capitulated, 
beneath the apple tree at Appomattox. The other armies, the flanges of 
the revolt, swiftly followed. 

"And could it really be, then? Out of all the afifairs of this world of woe 
and passion., of failure and disorder and dismay, was there really come the 
confirmed, unerring sign of peace, like a shaft of pure light — of rightful 
rule — of God? 

"But I must not dwell on accessories. The deed hastens. The popular 
afternoon paper, the little Evening Star, had scattered all over its third page, 
divided among the advertisements in a sensational manner in a hundred dif- 
ferent places: 

" 'The President and his lady will be at the theatre this evening.' 

"Lincoln was fond of the theatre. I have myself seen him there several 
times. I remember thinking how funny it was that he, the leading actor 
in the greatest and stormiest drama known to real history's stage, through 
centuries, should sit there and be so completely interested in those human 
jackstraws, moving about with their silly little gestures, foreign spirit, and 
flatulent text. 



502 THE STORY OF LfNCOLX'S LIFE. 

'"So the day. as I sa)-, was propitious. Early herbage, early flowers, were 
out. 1 reinember where I was stopping at the time, the season being 
aih-ancecl. there were many lilacs in full bloom. 

'"By one of tliose caprices that enter and g!\e tinge to events withotit 
Ijcing a part of them, I find myself always reminded of the great tragedy of 
tliis day by the sight and odor of these blossoms. It never fails. 

"On this occasion the theatre was crowded, many ladies in rich and gay 
costumes, officers in their uniforms, many well-known citizens, young folks, 
the usual cluster of gas lights, the usual magnetism of so many people, cheer- 
ful with perfumes, music of violins and flutes — and over all. that saturating, 
that vast, vague wonder. Victory, the nation's victory, the triumph of the 
Union, filling the air, the thought, the sense, with exhilaration more than all 
the perfumes. 

"The President came betimes, and, with his wife, witnessed the play 
from the large stage boxes of the second tier, two thrown into one, 
ruid profusely draped with the national flag. The acts and scenes of the 
piece — one of those singularly witless compositions which have at the least 
the merit of giving entire relief to an audience engaged in mental action or 
business excitetnents and cares during the day, as it makes not the slightest 
call on either the moral, emotional, esthetic or spiritual nature — a piece in 
which among other characters, so called, a Yankee — certainly such a one as 
was never seen, or at least like it ever seen in North America, is introduced in 
England, with a varied fol-de-rol of talk, plot, scenery, and such phantas- 
magoria as goes to make up a modern popular dramai — had progressed 
perhaps through a couple of its acts, when, in the midst of this comedy, or 
tragedy, or non-such, or whatever it is to be called, and to offset it, or finish 
it out, as if in Nature's and the Great ]\Iuse's mockery of these poor mimics, 
comes interpolated that scene, not really or exactly to be described at all 
( for on the many hundreds who were there it seems to this hour to have 
left little but a passing blur, a dream, a blotch) — and yet partially described 
as I now proceed to give it : 

"There is a scene in the play, representing the modern parlor, in which 
two unprecedented ladies are informed by the unprecedented and impossible 
\'ankee that he is not a man of fortune, and therefore undesirable for mar- 
riage-catching purposes; after which, the comments being finished, the 
dramatic trio make exit, leaving the stage clear for a moment. 

"There was a pause, a hush, as it were. At this period came the death 
of Abraham Lincoln. 



THE STORV OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 503 

"'Great as that was, with all its manifold train circling around it, and 
stretching into the future for many a century, in the politics, history, art, 
etc., of the New World, in point of fact, the main thing, the actual murder, 
transpired with the quiet and simplicity of any commonest occurrence — the 
bursting of a bud or pod in the growth of vegetation, for instance. 

"Through the general hum following the stage pause, with the change 
of positions, etc., came the muffled sound of a pistol shot, which not one- 
hundredth part of the audience heard at the time — and yet a moment's 
hush — somehow, surely a vague, startled thrill — and then, through the 
ornamented, draperied, starred and striped space-way of the President's box, 
a sudden figure, a man, raises himself with hands and feet, stands a moment 
on the railing, leaps below to the stage, falls out of position, catching his 
boot-heel in the copious drapery (the American flag), falls on one knee, 
quickly recovers himself, rises as if nothing had happened (he really sprains 
his ankle, unfelt then) — and the figure. Booth, the murderer, dressed in 
plain black broadcloth, bareheaded, with a full head of glossy, raven hair, 
and his eyes, like some mad animal's, flashing with light and resolution, yet 
with a certain strange calmness holds aloft in one hand a large 
knife — walks along not much back of the footlights — turns fully 
towards the audience, his face of statuesque beauty, lit by those basilisk 
eyes, flashing with desperation, perhaps insanity — launches out in a firm 
and steady voice the words, 'Sic semper tyrannis" — and then walks vi^ith 
neither slow nor very rapid pace diagonally across to the back of the stage, 
and disappears. 

"(Had not all this terrible scene — making the mimic ones preposterous 
— had it not all been rehearsed, in blank, by Booth, beforehand?) 

"A moment's hush, incredulous — a scream — a cry of murder — Mrs. Lin- 
coln leaning out of the box, with ashy cheeks and lips, with involuntary cry, 
pointing to the retreating figure, 'He has killed the President!' 

"And still a moment's strange, incredulous suspense — and then the 
deluge ! — then that mixture of horror, noises, uncertainty — the sound, some- 
where back, of a horse's hoofs clattering with speed — the people burst 
through chairs and railings, and break them up — that noise adds to the 
queerness of the scene — there is inextricable confusion and terror — women 
faint — quite feeble persons fall, and are trampled on — many cries of agony 
are heard' — the broad stage suddenly fills to suffocation with a dense and 
motley crowd, like some horrible carnival — the audience rush generally upon 
it — at least the strong men do — the actors and actresses are there in their 



504 THE SrORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 

play costumes and painted faces, with mortal fright showing through the 
rouge — some trembling, some in tears — the screams and calls, confused 
talk — redoubled, trebled — two or three manage to pass up water from the 
stage to the President's box, others try to clamber up, etc., etc. 

"In the midst of all this the soldiers of the President's Guard, with others, 
suddenly drawn to the scene, burst in — some two hundred altogether — 
they storm the house, through all the tiers, especially the upper ones — 
inflamed with fury, literally charging the audience with fixed bayonets, mus- 
kets and pistols, shouting, 'Clear out ! clear out !' 

■'Such a wild scene, or a suggestion of it, rather, inside the playhouse that 
night ! 

"Outside, too, in the atmosphere of shock and craze, crowds of people 
filled with frenzy, ready to seize any outlet for it, came near committing 
murder several times on innocent individuals. 

"One such case was particularly exciting. The infuriated crowd, through 
some chance, got started against one man, either for words he uttered, or 
perhaps without any cause at all, and were proceeding to hang him at once 
to a neighboring lamp-post, when he was rescued by a few heroic policemen, 
who placed him in their midst and fought their way slowly and amid great 
peril toward the station-house. 

"It was a fitting episode of the whole affair. The crowd rushing and 
eddying to and fro, the night, the yells, the pale faces, many frightened peo- 
ple trying in vain to extricate themselves, the attacked man, not yet freed 
from the jaws of death, looking like a corpse; the silent, resolute half-dozen 
policemen, with no weapons but their little clubs, yet stern and steady 
through all those eddying swarms, made, indeed, a fitting side scene to the 
grand tragedy of the murder. They gained the station-house with the pro- 
tected man, whom they placed in security for the night, and discharged in the 
morning. 

"And in the midst of that night pandemonium of senseless hate, infuri- 
ated soldiers, the audience and the crowd — the stage, and all its actors and 
actresses, its paint pots, spangles, gas-light — the life-blood from those veins, 
the best and sweetest of the land, drips slowly down, and death's ooze 
already begins its little bubbles on the lips. 

"Such, hurriedly sketched, were the accompaniments of the death of 
President Lincoln. So suddenly, and in murder and horror unsurpassed, 
he was taken from us. But his death was painless." 

The assassin's bullet did not produce instant death, but the President 




LINCOLN DELIVERING HIS FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 

5t>5 



5o5 THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 

never again became conscious. He Avas carried to a house opposite the thea- 
tre, where he died the next morning. In the meantime the authorities had 
become aware of the wide-reaching conspiracy, and the capital was in a state 
of terrdr. 

On the night of the President's assassination, Mr. Seward, Secretary 
of State, was attacked while in bed with a broken arm, by Booth's fellow- 
conspirators, and badly wounded. 

The conspirators had also planned to take the lives of Vice-President 
Johnson and Secretary Stanton. Booth had called on Vice-President John- 
son the day before, and, not finding him in, left a card. 

Secretary Stanton acted with his usual promptness and courage. During 
the period of excitement he acted as President, and directed the plans for 
the capture of Booth. 

Among other things, he issued the following reward : 

REWARD OFFERED BY SECRETARY STANTON. 

War Department, Washington, April 20, 1865. 
Major-General John A. Dix, New York : 

The murderer of our late beloved President, Abraham Lincoln, is still 
at large. Fifty thousand dollars reward will be paid by this Department for 
his apprehension, in addition to any reward offered by municipal authorities 
or State Executives. 

Twenty-five thousand dollars reward will be paid for the apprehension 
of G. W. Atzerodt, sometimes called "Port Tobacco," one of Booth's accom- 
plices. Twenty-five thousand dollars reward will be paid for the apprehen- 
sion of David C. Herold. another of Booth's accomplices. 

A liberal reward will be paid for any information that shall conduce to 
the arrest of either the above-named criminals or their accomplices. 

All persons harboring or secreting the said persons, or either of them, or 
aiding or assisting their concealment or escape, will be treated as accomplices 
in the murder of the President and the attempted assassination of the Sec- 
retary of State, and shall be subject to trial before a military commission, 
and the punishment of death. 

Let the stain of innocent blood be removed from the land by the arrest 
and punishment of the murderers. 

All good citizens are exhorted to aid public justice on this occasion. 
Every man should consider his own conscience charged with this solemn 
duty, and rest neither night nor day until it be accomplished. 

EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. 



THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 507 

BOOTH FOUND IN A BABN. 

Booth, accompanied by David C. Herold, a fellow-conspirator, finally 
made his way into Maryland, where eleven days after the assassination the 
two were discovered in a barn on Garrett's farm near Port Royal on the 
Rappahannock. The barn \\as surrounded by a squad of cavalrymen, who 
called upon the assassins to surrender. Herold gave himself up and was 
roundly cursed and abused by Booth, who declared that he would never be 
taken alive. 

The cavalrymen then set tire to the barn and as the tlames leaped up 
the figure of the assassin could be plainly seen, although the wall of fire 
prevented him from seeing the soldiers. Colonel Conger saw him standing 
upright upon a crutch with a carbine in his hands. 

When the fire first blazed up Booth crept on his hands and knees to the 
spot, evidently for the purpose of shooting the man who had applied the 
torch, but the blaze prevented him from seeing anyone. Then it seemed as 
if he were preparing to extinguish the flames, but seeing the impossibility 
of this he started toward the door with his carbine held ready for action. 

His eyes shone with the light of fever, but he was pale as death and 
his general appearance was haggard and unkempt. He had shaved ofif his 
mustache and his hair was closely cropped. Both he and Herold wore the 
uniforms of Confederate soldiers. 

BOOTH SHOT BY "BOSTON" CORBETT. 

The last orders given to the squad pursuing Booth were: "'Don't shoot 
Booth, but take him alive." Just as Booth started to the door of the barn 
this order was disobeyed by a sergeant named Boston Corbett, who fired 
through a crevice and shot Booth in the neck. The wounded man was 
carried out of the barn and died four hours afterward on the grass where 
they had laid him. Before he died he whispered to Lieutenant Baker, "Tell 
mother I died for my country: I thought I did for the best." 

What became of Booth's body has always been and probably always will 
be a mystery. Many dift'erent stories have been told concerning his final 
resting place, but all that is known positively is that the body was first 
taken to Washington and a post-mortem examination of it held on the 
Monitor Montauk. On the night of April 27th it was turned over to two 
men who took it in a rowboat and disposed of it secretly. How they dis- 
posed of it none but themselves know and they have never told. 



5o8 THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 



FATE OF THE CONSPIRATORS. 

The conspiracy to assassinate the President involved ahogether twenty, 
hve people. .Vmong the number captured and tried were David C. Herold 
G. W. .\tzerodt. Louis Payne, Edward Spangler, Michael O'Loughlin, 
Samuel Arnold, Mrs. Surratt and Dr. Samuel Mudd, a physician, who set 
Booth's leg, which was sprained by his fall h-om the stage bo.\. Of these 
Herold, x^tzerodt, Payne and Mrs. Surratt were hanged. Dr. Mudd was 
deported to the Dry Tortugas. While there an epidemic of yellow fever 
broke out and he rendered such good service that he was granted a pardon 
and died a number of years ago in Maryland. 

John Surratt, the son of the woman who was hanged, made his 
escape to Italy, where he became one of the Papal guards in the Vatican 
at Rome. His presence there was discovered by Archbishop Hughes, and, 
although there were no extradition laws to cover his case, the Italian Gov- 
ernment gave him up to the United States authorities. 

He had two trials. At the first the jury disagreed; the long delay before 
his second trial allowed him to escape by pleading the statute of limitation. 
Spangler and O'Loughlin were sent to the Dry Tortugas and served their 
time. 

Ford, the owner of the theatre in which the President was assassinated, 
was a Southern sympathizer, and when he attempted to re-open his theatre 
after the great national tragedy. Secretary Stanton refused to allow it. The 
Government afterward bought the theatre and turned it into a National 
museum. 

President Lincoln was buried at Springfield, and on the day of his funeral 
there was universal grief. 

HENRY WARD BEECHER'S EULOGY. 

No final words of that great life can be more fitly spoken than the 
eulogy pronounced by Henry Ward Beecher: 

"And now the martyr is moving in triumphal march, mightier than when 
alive. The nation rises up at every stage of his coming. Cities and States 
are his pall-bearers, and the cannon speaks the hours with solemn progres- 
sion. Dead, dead, dead, he yet speaketh. 

"Is Washington dead? Is Hampden dead? Is any man that was ever 
fit to live dead? Disenthralled of flesh, risen to the unobstructed sphere 



THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 509 

where passion never comes, he begins his illimitable work. His life is now 
grafted upon the infinite, and will be fruitful as no earthly life can be. 

"Pass on, thou that hast overcome. Ye people, behold the martyr whose 
blood, as so many articulate words, pleads for fidelity, for law, for liberty." 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S FAMILY. 

Abraham Lincoln was married on November 4, 1842, to Miss Mary 
Todd, four sons being the issue of the union. 

Robert Todd, born August i, 1843, removed to Chicago after his 
father's death, practiced law, and became wealthy; in 1881 he was appointed 
Secretary of War by President Garfield, and served through President 
Arthur's term; was made Minister to England in 1889, and served four 
years; became counsel for the Pullman Palace Car Company, and succeeded 
to the presidency of that corporation upon the death of George M. Pullman. 

Edward Baker, born March 10, 1846, died in infancy. 

WilHam Wallace, born December 21. 1850, died in the White House in 
February, 1862. 

Thomas (known as "Tad"), born April 4, 1853, died in 1871. 

Mrs. Lincoln died in her sixty-fourth year at the home of her sister, Mrs. 
Ninian W. Edwards, at Springfield, Illinois, in 1882. She was the daughter 
of Robert S. Todd, of Kentucky. Her great-uncle, John Todd, and her 
grandfather, Levi Todd, accompanied General George Rogers Clark to Illi- 
nois, and were present at the capture of Kaskaskia and Vincennes. In 
December, 1778, John Todd was appointed by Patrick Henry, Governor 
of Virginia, to be lieutenant of the County of Illinois, then a part of Vir- 
ginia. Colonel John Todd was one of the original proprietors of the town 
of Lexington, Kentucky. While encamped on the site of the present city, 
he heard of the opening battle of the Revolution, and named his infant 
settlement in its honor. 

Mrs. Lincoln was a proud, ambitious woman, well-educated, speaking 
French fluently, and familiar with the ways of the best society in Lexington, 
Kentucky, where she was born December 13, 1818. She was a pupil of 
Madame Mantelli, whose celebrated seminary in Lexington was directly 
opposite the residence of Henry Clay. The conversation at the seminary 
was carried on entirely in French. 

She visited Springfield, Illinois, in 1837, remained three months and then 
returned to her native State. In 1839 she made Springfield her permanent 



5IO THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 

home. She lived with her eldest sister, Elizabeth, wife of Ninian W. 
Edwards, Lincoln's colleague in the Legislature, and it was not strange she 
and Lincoln should meet. Stephen A. Douglas was also a friend of the 
Edwards family, and a suitor for her hand, but she rejected him to accept 
the future President. She was one of the belles of the town. 

She is thus described at the time she made her home in Springfield — 

1839: 

"She was of the average height, weighing about a hundred and thirty 
pounds. She was rather compactly built, had a well rounded face, rich dark- 
brown hair, and bluish-gray eyes. In her bearing she was proud, but hand- 
some and vivacious; she was a good conversationalist, using with equal 
fluency the French and English languages. 

"When she used a pen, its point was sure to be sharp, and she wrote 
with wit and ability. She not only had a quick intellect but an intuitive 
judgment of men and their motives. Ordinarily she was affable and even 
charming in her manners; but when offended or antagonized she coula be 
very bitter and sarcastic. 

"In her figure and physical proportions, in education, bearing, ten p ^ra- 
ment, history — in everything she was the exact reverse of Lincoln." 

That Mrs. Lincoln was very proud of her husband there is no doubt; "nd 
it is probable that she married him largely from motives of ambition. She 
knew Lincoln better than he knew himself; she instinctively felt that he 
would occupy a proud position some day, and it is a matter of record that 
she told Ward Lamon, her husband's law partner, that "Mr. Lincoln will 
yet be President of the United States." 

Mrs. Lincoln was decidedly pro-slavery in her views, but this never dis- 
turbed Lincoln. In various ways they were unlike. Her fearless, wittv. 
and austere nature had nothing in common with the calm, imperturbabl ', 
and simple ways of her thoughtful and absent-minded husband. She was 
bright and sparkling in conversation, and fit to grace any drawing-room. 
She well knew that to marry Lincoln meant not a life of luxury and ease, 
for Lincoln was not a man to accumulate wealth; but in him she saw position 
in society, prominence in the world, and the grandest social distinction. 
By that means her ambition was certainly satisfied, for nineteen years after 
her marriage she was "the first lady of the land," and the mistress of the 
White House. 

After his marriage, by dint of untiring efforts and the recognition of 
influential friends, the couple managed through rare frugality to move along. 



THE STORY OF LINCOLN'S LIFE. 511 

In Lincoln's struggles, both in the law and for political advancement, his 
wife shared his sacrifices. She was a plucky little woman, and in fact 
endowed with a more restless ambition than he. She was gifted with a rare 
insight into the motives that actuate mankind, and there is no doubt that 
much of Lincoln's success was in a measure attributable to her acuteness 
and the stimulus of her influence. 

His election to Congress within four years after their marriage afforded 
her extreme gratification. She loved power and prominence, and was inor- 
dinately proud of her tall and ungainly husband. She saw in him bright 
prospects ahead, and his every move was watched by her with the closest 
interest. If to other persons he seemed homely, to her he was the embofJi 
ment of noble manhood, and each succeeding day impressed upon her tne 
wisdom of her choice of Lincoln over Douglas — if in reality she ever seri- 
ously accepted the latter's attentions. 

■■^Ir. Lincoln may not be as handsome a figure," she said one day in 
Lincoln's law office during her husband's absence, when the conversation 
urned on Douglas, "but the people are perhaps not aware that his heart is 
^. large as his arms are long." 

LINCOLN MONUMENT AT SPRINGFIELD. 

The remains of Abraham Lincoln rest beneath a magnificent monument 
in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, 111. Before they were deposited in their 
final resting place they were moved many times. 

On May 4, 1865. all that was mortal of Abraham Lincoln was deposited 
in the receiving vault at the cemetery, until a tomb could be built. In 1876 
thieves made an unsuccessful attempt to steal the remains. From the tomb 
the body of the martyred President was removed later to the monument. 
A flight of iron steps, commencing about fifty yards east of the vault, ascends 
in a curved line to the monument, an elevation of more than fifty feet. 

Excavation for this monument commenced September 9, 1869. It is built 
of granite, from quarries at Biddeford, Maine. The rough ashlers were 
shipped to Quincy, Massachusetts, where they were dressed and numbered, 
thence shipped to Springfield. It is 72^ feet from east to west, 119} feet from 
north to south, and 100 feet high. The total cost is about $230,000, to May 
I, 1888. All the statuary is orange-colored bronze. The whole monument 
was designed by Larkin G. Mead; the statuary was modeled in plaster by 
him in Florence, Italy, and cast by the Ames Manufacturing Company, of 



512 THE STORY OT LINCOLN'S LIFE. 



1 



Chicopee, Massachusetts. A statue of Lincoln and Coat of Arms were first 
placed on the monument; the statue was unveiled and the monument dedi- 
cated October 15, 1874. Infantry and Naval Groups were put on in Septem- 
ber, 1877, an Artillery Group, April 13, 1882, and a Cavalry Group, March 
13. 1883. 

The principal front of the monument is on the south side, the statue of 
Lincoln being on that side of the obelisk, over Memorial Hall. On the east 
side are three tablets, upon which are the letters U. S. A. To the right of 
that, and beginning with Virginia, we find the the abbreviations of the orig- 
inal thirteen States. Next comes Vermont, the first state admitted after 
the Union was perfected, the States following in the order they were admit- 
ted, ending with Nebraska on the east, thus forming the cordon of thirty- 
seven States composing the United States of America when the monument 
was erected. The new States admitted since the monument was built have 
been added. 

The statue of Lincoln is just above the Coat of Arms of the United States. 
The grand climax is indicated by President Lincoln, with his left hand hold- 
ing out a-s a golder. scepter the iilmancipation Proclamation, while in his 
right he holds the pen with which he has just written it. The right hand is 
resting on another badge of authority, the American flag, thrown over the 
fasces. At the foot of the fasces lies a wreath of laurel, with which to crown 
the President as the victor over slavery and rebellion. 

On March 10, ,rgoo. President Lincoln's body was removed to a tem- 
porary vault to pfYmit of alterations to the monument. The shaft was made 
twenty feet highev and other changes were made costing $100,000. 

April 24, 1901 the body was again transferred to the monument without 
public ceremony. 






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